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Multicenter Study
. 2025 Jan 2;184(1):114.
doi: 10.1007/s00431-024-05923-7.

Trends and epidemiology of children treated in specialized burn centers in the Netherlands between 2009 and 2022

F M Kemme  1   2   3 , E L van den Berg  4 , A Meij-de Vries  4   5   6 , R K Gigengack  7   8   9 , M D Cuijpers  4   10   11 , M E van Baar  12   13 , M K Nieuwenhuis  14   15   16 , P P M van Zuijlen  4   10   11   6   17 , C H van der Vlies  7   12   18 , E Bosma  14 , A Pijpe  19   20   21 ; Dutch Burn Repository Group
Collaborators, Affiliations
Multicenter Study

Trends and epidemiology of children treated in specialized burn centers in the Netherlands between 2009 and 2022

F M Kemme et al. Eur J Pediatr. .

Abstract

Knowledge about trends and epidemiology of pediatric burns is useful to identify patterns, to advance medical research, and to design prevention programs and resource allocation. The aim of this study is to describe the epidemiology and trends of pediatric burns between 2009 and 2022 in the three Dutch burn centers. A secondary objective of this study is to evaluate the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on the pattern of pediatric burns. A register-based cohort study was conducted based on data from the Dutch Burn Repository R3. Patients between 0 and 17 years at the time of the burn injury admitted between 2009 and 2022 to one of the three burn centers were included. Descriptive statistics were used to investigate the incidence and patient, burn, and treatment characteristics. The COVID-19 pandemic years (2020-2021) were compared with the pooled results from pre-COVID-19 years (2017-2019). A total of 4017 patients were included in this study, of which 3085 (77%) were overnight admissions. The incidence and absolute number of pediatric burn admissions gradually increased over the years, with a small temporary decrease in 2020-2021. Patient and burn characteristics remained relatively consistent over the years. Three quarters of all patients were between 0 and 3 years old, and the majority were boys (59%). A decreasing ratio of length of stay per % total burned surface area and an increase in day admissions was observed since 2016 onwards, which intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Conclusions: There was a slight increase in the number of pediatric admissions to the burn centers between 2009 and 2022. Young children (0-3 years) remain the most frequently affected group. A shorter relative length of stay was observed, as well as an increase in day admissions, which was reinforced by the COVID-19 pandemic.

What is known: • Burns are a leading cause of death and disability among children globally. The largest group affected are young children (0-3 years) and most are scald burns. • In the Netherlands, since the late nineties there has been a trend towards more admissions to specialized burn centers, especially for young children with less severe burns.

What is new: • There was a slight increase in the number of pediatric admissions to the burn centers between 2009 and 2022, with a temporary decrease during the COVID-19 pandemic (2020-2021). • Admissions now tend to be shorter per percentage total burned surface area (TBSA), with an increase in day admissions, which intensified during the COVID-19 years.

Keywords: Burns; COVID-19; Children; Epidemiology; Trends.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics approval: Approval by a Medical Research Ethics Committee was not required according to the Dutch Medical Research with Human Subjects Law. The local institutional review boards of the Red Cross Hospital, Maasstad Hospital, and Martini Hospital approved this study. The Medical Research Ethics Committees United and the Medical Ethics Review Committee of the Amsterdam University Medical Centers ruled that the Medical Research Involving Human Subjects Act (WMO) was not applicable to the current study (AW24.031/W19.140 and 2022–0683, respectively). Consent to participate: Not applicable. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

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