TITLE: AN ANALYSIS OF PEDIATRIC BURN CASES IN SOUTHEASTERN ANATOLIA, TURKEY: A 10-YEAR RETROSPECTIVE STUDY

Abstract Background: Burns continues to be a serious global public health problem all over the world, especially in developing countries. Materials and Methods: The age, gender, cause of injury, total body surface area (TBSA) of the burn, complications, and mortality rate of 1,038 patients who were hospitalized in our burn center between January 1, 2010 and January 1, 2020 were analyzed. Results: It was found that the burned surface area in boys had a higher surface than in girls. The TBSA was <50% and the mortality rate was 0.2% for all patients. Hot liquids, such as tea, hot milk, hot water, and oily food, were the causes of burns in 84.7% of the patients. Hot objects, hot melted nylon, hot tandoor and embers, and hot asphalt accounted for 7.7% of the burns. Flame burns caused 5.6% of the burns, 1.2 % suffered from electrical burns, frostbite and other causes of burns caused the burns in 0.8% of the patients.. Conclusions: It was found that pediatric burns in our region occurred more often in boys, in children under the age of three, in children of parents with low education levels, and in children residing in rural areas. As the etiological factors of burn injuries vary considerably in different communities, careful study of the pattern in every community is needed before a sound prevention program can be planned and implemented. Hence, this study was conducted to assess the epidemiological, causes, risk factors, and microbial profile of burn injuries and prevention strategies in our region. Keywords: Burns, Pediatrics, Epidemiology, Emergency medicine, microbial profile