Quality of life in paediatric burn patients with non-severe burns. Issue 1 (February 2023)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Allahham, Amira; Cooper, Matthew N.; Fear, Mark W.; Martin, Lisa; Wood, Fiona M.
• Is Part Of: Burns. Volume 49:Issue 1(2023)
• Page Start: 220
• Page End: 232
• Publication Date: 2023-02
• Subjects: BRANZ Burns registry of Australia and New Zealand -- CPF Child-reported physical function -- CPSF Child-reported psychosocial function -- GEKO Governance, Evidence, Knowledge and Outcomes -- IRSAD Index of Relative Socio-economic Advantage and Disadvantage -- IRSD Index of Relative Socioeconomic Disadvantage -- PedsQL Paediatric quality of life survey -- PPF Parent-reported physical function -- PPSF Parent-reported psychosocial function -- PRN Project reference number -- SEIFA Socio-Economic Index for Areas -- TBSA Total body surface area -- WA Western Australia; Quality of life -- Burn injuries -- Paediatrics -- PedsQL; Burns and scalds -- Periodicals; 617.11
• DOI: 10.1016/j.burns.2022.03.012
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0305-4179

Abstract

Abstract: Background: Burns are common worldwide, and the vast majority are non-severe burns of less than 20% of the total body surface area (TBSA). In Australia, paediatric burns account for a third of all burn admissions, thus understanding the quality-of-life outcomes after a non-severe burn in children is important. Methods: This retrospective cohort study describes a paediatric cohort from Western Australia with non-severe burns occurring between 2018 and 2020 and characterises the child's quality-of-life outcomes which is measured using the Paediatric quality of life survey (PedsQL). The PedsQL included a parent-report and child-report assessment, each with a physical function domain and a psychosocial function domain which comprised of an emotional, a social and a school category. Results: Data collected from 249 patients; 50.6% were male, 45.6% were toddlers. The most common cause was scald (48.19%), the majority had burns smaller than 5% TBSA (91.97%), and most included visible areas such as head, neck or hands (77.51%). The parent-report PedsQL scores were significantly different for both physical and psychosocial domains between the different age groups (p = 0.002, p = 0.001, respectively) and for burn cause (p = 0.004, p = 0.005, respectively). For child-reported scores we found evidence of an effect of burn cause across both domains that did not reach a statistical significance (p = 0.076, p = 0.078, respectively). The psychosocial functions in both the parent-report and the self-report were significantly different for the socioeconomic status groups (p = 0.015, p = 0.032, respectively). Quality of life scores were critically low in 16.46% of paediatric burn patients at three months after burn. Conclusion: Parent-reported and child-reported psychosocial function was significantly poorer in higher socioeconomic groups, for older children and for those with flame burns. About 16% of patients had scores below the critical cut off. These data provide insight into the quality-of-life outcomes of paediatric patients with non-severe burns, allowing future studies to investigate burn prevention strategies and services to help paediatric burn patients in their recovery. Highlights: This is the first study to examine quality of life in paediatric patients after non-severe burns. 16.5% of non-severe paediatric burn patients score below the critical cut-off score and may require psychosocial support. Parent-reported scores were significantly different across age groups and burn causes. Socio-economic status was negatively associated with quality-of-life scores.