Citation

Wallace HJ, Fear MW, Crowe MM, Martin LJ, Wood FM. Burns Trauma 2017; 5: e19.

Affiliation

Burns Service of Western Australia, Princess Margaret Hospital for Children and Fiona Stanley Hospital, Perth, WA Australia.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, Institute of Burn Research, Southwest Hospital, Third Military Medical University, China, Publisher Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group - BMC)

DOI

10.1186/s41038-017-0084-x

PMID

28680887

PMCID

PMC5494810

Abstract

BACKGROUND: There is a lack of rigorous research investigating the factors that influence scar outcome in children. Improved clinical decision-making to reduce the health burden due to post-burn scarring in children will be guided by evidence on risk factors and risk stratification. This study aimed to examine the association between selected patient, injury and clinical factors and the development of raised scar after burn injury. Novel patient factors were investigated including selected immunological co-morbidities (asthma, eczema and diabetes type 1 and type 2) and skin pigmentation (Fitzpatrick skin type).

METHODS: A prospective case-control study was conducted among 186 children who sustained a burn injury in Western Australia. Logistic regression was used to explore the relationship between explanatory variables and a defined outcome measure: scar height measured by a modified Vancouver Scar Scale (mVSS).

RESULTS: The overall correct prediction rate of the model was 80.6%; 80.9% for children with raised scars (>1 mm) and 80.4% for children without raised scars (≤1 mm). After adjustment for other variables, each 1% increase in % total body surface area (%TBSA) of burn increased the odds of raised scar by 15.8% (95% CI = 4.4-28.5%). Raised scar was also predicted by time to healing of longer than 14 days (OR = 11.621; 95% CI = 3.727-36.234) and multiple surgical procedures (OR = 11.521; 1.994-66.566).

CONCLUSIONS: Greater burn surface area, time to healing of longer than 14 days, and multiple operations are independently associated with raised scar in children after burn injury. Scar prevention strategies should be targeted to children with these risk factors.

Language: en

Keywords

Burns; Children; Hypertrophic scar; Risk factors; Wound healing