TY  - JOUR
PY  - 1998//
TI  - Scalds in children caused by water from electrical kettles: effect of prevention through information
JO  - Burns: journal of the International Society for Burn Injuries
A1  - Sheller, J. L.
A1  - Thuesen, B.
SP  - 420
EP  - 424
VL  - 24
IS  - 5
N2  - Electrical kettles (el-kettles) were virtually unknown in Danish households in the mid-1980s, but have since become more common. In 1996, (65 per cent of all Danish households had an el-kettle. As the number of el-kettles have increased, so have the number of scalds caused by water from toppled el-kettles. The first patient with an el-kettle scald was admitted to the Burns Centre at Hvidovre hospital in 1988. From 1988 to 1993 29 patients were admitted with this type of scald; 15 patients in 1993 alone. All the patients were toddlers 5-30 months of age. When el-kettle scalds were compared to scalds caused by other mechanisms in children under 5 years of age, it was found that the former occurred to younger children than the latter (60 per cent of el-kettle scalded children were less than 1 year of age compared to 28 per cent scalded by other means), the scalds were more extensive (median of TBSA were 13 per cent and 6 per cent, respectively), and the scalds were deeper (53 per cent and 24 per cent, respectively, needed skin-grafting). In 1993 campaigns were started to inform parents that the cord of the el-kettle should be short and not hang over the edge of the table. In the following years a considerable decrease in the number of el-kettle scalds was found. When the number of expected el-kettle scalds was estimated from the number of Danish households having an el-kettle, it was found that more than half the expected number of el-kettle scalds were avoided.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0305-4179
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/
ID  - ref1
ER  -