The effects of habitual negligence among families with respect to pediatric burns

BACKGROUND
In this study, scald burns in a Turkish population (0-16 years of age) were studied with reference to their occurrence and common causes.
METHODS
Of the burn victims hospitalized at the Burns Unit of Ankara Numune Education and Research Hospital between April 2001 and December 2003, 354 patients were aged 3 months to 16 years and 228 (64.4%) were male.
RESULTS
When burn causes were examined, scald burns were the primary type, reported in 77.7% (275) of the patients (p<0.001). Scalds were the most frequent burn agents in the pediatric population. Tea is a traditional beverage in Turkey. It is consumed especially at breakfast and throughout the day until late at night. Tea in Turkey is steeped and brewed for consumption. As brewing and steeping is a time-consuming process and the tea is served hot, the appropriate level of care regarding the hot tea is neglected. Consequently, tea carries a serious potential to cause burns in this country. Of the scalded children, 93 scald burns (33.8%) were due to the tea itself or to the boiling water used in steeping tea, and 87.1% of these children were preschoolers. The mortality rate was 7.1% in the hospitalized children group.
CONCLUSION
Traditional behaviors may sometimes have some serious unexpected consequences. In households where family members tend to ignore an ongoing problem, governmental and non-governmental organizations should consider taking preventive measures to protect the children from the devastating consequences of such negligence.

Çocuk yanýklarýnda ailevi alýþkanlýklarýn ihmale etkileri

AMAÇ
Bu çalýþmada, 0-16 yaþ arasýnda Türk nüfusundaki haþlanma yanýklarý, meydana geliþ þekilleri ve örnekleriyle deðerlendirildi.
GEREÇ VE YÖNTEM
Ankara Numune Eðitim ve Araþtýrma Hastanesi Yanýk Tedavi Merkezi’nde Nisan 2001 ile Aralýk 2003 arasýnda yatarak tedavi gören hastalarýn 354’ü 3 ay ile 16 yaþ arasýndaydý ve 228’i (%64,4) erkek olguydu.
BULGULAR
Yanýk nedenleri irdelendiðinde, haþlanma yanýklarý %77,7’lik (275) oran ile en sýk izlenen yaralanmaydý (p<0,001). Çay, Türkiye’de geleneksel bir içecek halini almýþtýr. Sabah kahvaltýdan gece geç saatlere dek içilen çay, Türkiye’de demlendirilip dinlendirilerek içilmektedir. Bu þekilde hazýrlanmasýnýn uzun süre almasý ve sýcak içilmesi nedeniyle sýcak çaya olan dikkat zaman içinde daðýlmaktadýr. Bu nedenle de çay ciddi bir yanýk oluþturma potansiyeli kazanmaktadýr. Haþlanan çocuklardan 93’ü (%33,8) doðrudan çayla veya çay hazýrlanmasýnda kullanýlan sýcak suyla yanmýþtý. Bu grubun %87,1 kýsmýný okul öncesi kesim oluþturmaktaydý. Yatarak tedavi alan hasta grubunda ölüm hýzý %7,1 bulundu.
SONUÇ
Gelenekselleþmiþ alýþkanlýklar bazen ciddi beklenmeyen sonuçlar getirebilmektedir. Aile bireylerinin ihmale meyilli olmasýnýn süreðen bir problem olduðu hanelerde, çocuklarý böylesi ihmallerin ciddi sonuçlarýndan korumak için kamu ve sivil toplum örgütleri nazarýnda koruyucu önlemlerin alýnmasý için gerekli giriþimlerde bulunulmalýdýr.