PEDIATRIC BURNS IN CENTRAL FINLAND BETWEEN THE 1960S AND THE 1980S

This study comprised 359 paediatric burn-injury cases. The patients we re collected from the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, taking 4 years from each decade. These children were treated exclusively in the Paediatric Sur gery Department in the University Hospital of Tampere, Finland. We wer e interested in the backgrounds and living environments of our patient s as well as the children themselves. Special attention was paid to ri sk factors and methods for prevention. Scalds at home and in the sauna rooms constituted the largest groups of injuries. The number of hospi talized patients has slightly decreased during the past three decades, whereas the proportion of girls has increased. The mortality was very low (0.28 per cent), a single case. This study shows that 80 per cent of burn injuries in children occurred under the age of 4 years and ov er 80 per cent,of all burn injuries involved hot liquids, modern kitch en technology has not significantly reduced this factor. The epidemiol ogical profile of paediatric burns changed from the 1960s to the 1980s less than expected.