The causes, cost, and prevention of childhood burn injuries

E. McLoughlin and A. McGuire
San Francisco Injury Center for Research and Prevention, San Francisco General Hospital, CA 94110.

In 1985, fire and/or burn injuries killed 1461 children aged 0 to 19 years in the United States; an estimated 23,638 children were hospitalized and 440,000 were treated for burns. More than 101,000 life years were lost. A "cost of burn injury" model suggests a dollar value of societal losses from childhood burn deaths and injuries at approximately $3.5 billion. Very young children (0 to 4 years) dying in house fires accounted for 47% of these deaths. Preventing fire deaths through residential sprinklers, smoke detectors, fire-safe cigarettes, and child-resistant lighters would prevent more than three quarters of all childhood fire/burn deaths. While interventions exist for tap water scalds, solutions to the problems of "kitchen" scald and gasoline-involved flame burns are less apparent.

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