Clinical demographic characteristics, and their predictors of outcome among burn children treated at Muhimbili National Hospital burn unit.

Abstract

ABSTRACT Background: Burn victims' children are the local and global medical issue and cause morbidity as well as mortality universally. It can be the source of the worst illness condition and severe pain injuries a child can receive and may lead to prolonged physical and mental effects. About 70% of all burns occur in LMICs, especially in African and Southeast Asian regions, while children under the age of 15 in LMICs are more often burned than children in HICs from scalding or flames. Likewise, in Tanzania, the prevalence of burn injury is reported to be 16% of all injuries; a one-month incidence was calculated to be 1.73%. Objective: To establish the clinical demographic, outcome and its predictor of mortality among scald injured pediatric patients admitted at MNH burn unit. Methodology At Muhimbili National Hospital we conducted a retrospective cohort study designee, from January 2019 to December 2020. The study aimed to enroll all children who had scald injuries and were no older than 12 years. We used observation checklist tools to collect data on social demographics and clinical factor variables from the medical records. However, we excluded the files containing missing information and obtained the remaining information through a phone interview with the patient's guardian. We sent the proposal to the MUHAS IRB for review and approval and then sought permission from the MNH research, training, and consultancy bureau. The SPSS Version 23.0 package analyzed the data. Data analysis: The continuous variable consisted of the median (IQR), while the categorical variables included frequency and proportion. Chi-square was used to test for a significant association between categorical variables and outcomes, and p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: During the study period, 300 children who sustained scald injury were recruited of which majority (92.3%) were under five years of age. A mortality rate of 25% was observed with factors found to have significant association being residence in a rural area (aOR 23.71, 95% CI 3.82-147.58, p-value <0.001), a TBSA of >20% (OR 19.98, 95% CI 6.00-66.50, p-value <0.001) Conclusion: Scald injuries in young children pose a substantial risk of mortality, particularly in those living in rural areas and those with extensive injuries. These findings emphasize the need for targeted preventive measures and resources in vulnerable populations to reduce the incidence and severity of scald injuries in children