Paediatric burns in Iceland. Hospital admissions 1982-1995, a populations based study

Epidemiological data of 290 children admitted to the Paediatric Department, University Hospital of Iceland, over a 14 year period, 1982-1995, are pres ented. The sex ratio boys/girls was 1.6, 72.8% were children four years and younger. Hot fluids was the most common cause of burn injuries, mostly cau sed by geothermal hot water. Only one child suffered from electricity burn injuries and none from corrosives. Most of the accidents occurred at home ( 81.4%). A decreasing number of children suffering from electricity and corr osive burn injuries reflects heightened awareness and improved safety in th e home. We found a significant increase in the incidence of hot fluid burn injuries in Icelandic children compared to previous studies. This calls for preventive measures with regard to geothermal and other hot water burns in Icelandic children. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd and ISBI. All rights res erved.