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- Title
Contact Burns From Central Heating Radiators in Adults-An Increasing Problem in an Aging Population.
- Authors
Whittam, Alexander; Stone, Matthew; Anwar, Mohammad Umair
- Abstract
The primary method of heating residential dwellings in the developed world is through central heating radiators. These appliances are a major risk factor for contact burns, especially in individuals at the extremes of age. This article presents our findings of radiator contact burns in adults treated at a regional burns service during a 6-year period. We identified a total of 116 patients and 60% were male. The mean age was 58 (range 16-97), 71% had at least one comorbidity, with a mean of 1.88 comorbidities for each patient (range 0-8). The mean TBSA was 1.7% (range 0.1-8). Thirty-three patients (26%) required at least one operation with the average number of procedures being 1.45 (range 1-4). The mean length of stay was 16 days (range 0-98) compared to 7.5 days for all admitted patients across the same period. Four patients died within 30 days of their injury, 7 within 90 days, and 16 had died within 1 year of their injury. There have been previous smaller studies looking at contact burns from radiators in both adult and pediatric populations, demonstrating a bi-modal distribution at the extremes of age. This study is the largest of its kind looking specifically at an adult population and demonstrates that these injuries tend to occur in a population with a number of other comorbidities. These patients often required prolonged hospital care.
- Subjects
POPULATION aging; RADIATORS; ADULTS; AGE distribution; HOSPITAL care; TREATMENT for burns &; scalds; HEATING equipment; LENGTH of stay in hospitals; BURNS &; scalds; HEATING; BURN care units; HOUSING; COMORBIDITY
- Publication
Journal of Burn Care & Research, 2021, Vol 42, Issue 3, p495
- ISSN
1559-047X
- Publication type
journal article
- DOI
10.1093/jbcr/iraa190