OBJECTIVE: To investigate differences in the characteristics of burn injuries leading to hospitalisation of Indigenous Australian and non-Indigenous children in New South Wales.Design, setting: Population-based cohort analysis of linked hospital and mortality data for 2000-2014.
PARTICIPANTS: 35 749 Indigenous and 1 088 938 non-Indigenous children aged 0-13 years.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The external cause of the injury, its anatomic location, total body surface area affected (%TBSA), burn depth, length of hospital stay (LOS).
RESULTS: 4246 non-Indigenous and 323 Indigenous children were hospitalised for a first burn injury during 2000-2014. A higher proportion of Indigenous than non-Indigenous children were admitted with burns affecting more than 10% TBSA (17% v 12%) and a lower proportion of Indigenous children than of non-Indigenous children were treated at a hospital with a paediatric tertiary referral burn unit (40% v 50%; P < 0.001). The mean LOS during the index admission was almost 3 days longer for Indigenous children than for non-Indigenous children (6.1 days [95% CI, 4.8-7.4 days] v 3.4 days [95% CI, 3.2-3.7 days]; P < 0.001); the difference in LOS was still statistically significant after adjusting for characteristics of the burn and residential location.
CONCLUSION: The proportion of Indigenous children with burns who presented with burn injuries affecting more than 10% TBSA was greater than for non-Indigenous children. Their mean LOS was also longer; the difference remained statistically significant after adjusting for characteristics of the burn and of residential location.
BT - Med J Aust C1 - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28490304?dopt=Abstract IS - 9 J2 - Med. J. Aust. LA - eng N2 -OBJECTIVE: To investigate differences in the characteristics of burn injuries leading to hospitalisation of Indigenous Australian and non-Indigenous children in New South Wales.Design, setting: Population-based cohort analysis of linked hospital and mortality data for 2000-2014.
PARTICIPANTS: 35 749 Indigenous and 1 088 938 non-Indigenous children aged 0-13 years.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The external cause of the injury, its anatomic location, total body surface area affected (%TBSA), burn depth, length of hospital stay (LOS).
RESULTS: 4246 non-Indigenous and 323 Indigenous children were hospitalised for a first burn injury during 2000-2014. A higher proportion of Indigenous than non-Indigenous children were admitted with burns affecting more than 10% TBSA (17% v 12%) and a lower proportion of Indigenous children than of non-Indigenous children were treated at a hospital with a paediatric tertiary referral burn unit (40% v 50%; P < 0.001). The mean LOS during the index admission was almost 3 days longer for Indigenous children than for non-Indigenous children (6.1 days [95% CI, 4.8-7.4 days] v 3.4 days [95% CI, 3.2-3.7 days]; P < 0.001); the difference in LOS was still statistically significant after adjusting for characteristics of the burn and residential location.
CONCLUSION: The proportion of Indigenous children with burns who presented with burn injuries affecting more than 10% TBSA was greater than for non-Indigenous children. Their mean LOS was also longer; the difference remained statistically significant after adjusting for characteristics of the burn and of residential location.
PY - 2017 SP - 392 EP - 397 T2 - Med J Aust TI - Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australian children hospitalised for burn injuries: a population data linkage study. VL - 206 SN - 1326-5377 ER -