SCALDS associated with... HOT BEVERAGES

CHIRPP database, summary data for 1996, all ages

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SUMMARY (325 records)

More than half (62.7%) of scalds associated with hot beverages were sustained by children less than 2 years of age. Of all hot beverage scalds, 50.2% were to males. Most injuries occurred in the patient's own home, 67.1%, and most frequently between 4 and 8 p.m., 22.8%. The more common hot beverages involved were tea (48.3%) and coffee (42.2%). The body part most commonly injured was the chest, 24.2%. Of all patients, 40.0% sustained more than one burn. Injuries that required advice only or minor treatment accounted for 20.0% of patients, while 66.5% of patients needed medical follow-up after leaving the emergency department and 12.6% were admitted to hospital. The percentage of hot beverage scalds requiring hospitalization is approximately two times higher than the average for all injuries in the CHIRPP database.

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SPECIFICATIONS OF THE SEARCH

In August 1997, a search of the CHIRPP database for the year 1996 (119,526 records) was conducted. No age restriction was specified in the search. Records were selected i) if they contained the mechanism of injury contact with hot liquids or steam (code 53) or ii) if they contained the nature of injury burn or corrosion (code 20). From these records only the ones involving hot beverages (tea, coffee, hot chocolate, hot milk) were retained. Records involving hot foods (e.g., hot soup) were excluded. The total number of records identified was 325.

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OVERALL OCCURRENCE

In 1996, scalds associated with hot beverages accounted for 0.3% of the records in the CHIRPP database and 23.8% of burns in 1996 were due to hot beverage scalds.

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AGE AND SEX DISTRIBUTION OF SCALDS

	NUMBER	PERCENT OF INJURIES	% MALE*	NUMBER/ 100,000 **
< 1 year	69	21.2	43.5	1,688
1 year	135	41.5	63.7	1,527
2-4 years	49	15.1	46.9	243
5-9 years	21	6.5	42.9	87
10-14 years	8	2.5	62.5	29
15-19 years	12	3.7	8.3	101
20+ years	31	9.5	29.0	138
Total	325	100.0	50.2	272

^* Of all injuries in the CHIRPP database in 1996, 60.1% were sustained by males.
^** The number of scalds associated with hot beverages per 100,000 CHIRPP injuries of all types within the age group indicated. Because CHIRPP collects information from ten children's hospitals and only six of the general hospitals, there is a high number of young children in the database. Using number per 100,000 within an age group (instead of overall percent by age group) adjusts for different age group distributions.

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HOT BEVERAGE INVOLVED IN BURN

	NUMBER	PERCENT OF INJURIES
Tea	157	48.3
Coffee	137	42.2
Hot chocolate or milk	31	9.5
Total	325	100.0

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TIME AT WHICH INJURY OCCURRED

	NUMBER	PERCENT OF INJURIES
8:00 a.m. to noon	68	20.9
Noon to 4 p.m.	51	15.7
4 p.m. to 8 p.m.	74	22.8
8 p.m. to midnight	58	17.8
Midnight to 8 a.m.	11	3.4
Unknown	63	19.4
Total	325	100.0

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DAY DURING WHICH INJURY OCCURRED

	NUMBER	PERCENT OF INJURIES
Sunday	53	16.3
Monday	40	12.3
Tuesday	40	12.3
Wednesday	37	11.4
Thursday	37	11.4
Friday	57	17.5
Saturday	61	18.8
Total	325	100.0

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SEASON DURING WHICH INJURY OCCURRED

	NUMBER	PERCENT OF INJURIES
Summer (June - August)	78	24.0
Fall (September - November)	82	25.2
Winter (December - February)	76	23.4
Spring (March - May)	89	27.4
Total	325	100.0

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WHERE THE INJURY OCCURRED

		NUMBER		PERCENT OF INJURIES
Own home			218	67.1
	kitchen, dining room bedroom, living room basement bathroom other unspecified	116 58 6 1 1 36
Commercial area			46	14.2
Other home			19	5.8
	kitchen, dining room bedroom, living room basement unspecified	8 3 1 7
School			3	0.9
Residential institution			1	0.3
Other			10	3.1
Unspecified			28	8.6
Total			325	100.0

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WHAT HAPPENED WHEN INJURY OCCURRED

Note: The following is a list of frequently occurring circumstances and factors in scalds related to hot beverages. Each patient was assigned to a single category and percentages were based on 325 persons injured. Category assignment was based on the level of detail available in the description of the injury.

	NUMBER	PERCENT OF INJURIES
Patient pulled on table cloth or reached for beverage (cup or pot) and knocked it over	184	56.6
Patient spilled beverage while carrying, handling or preparing it	43	13.2
Other person knocked over or dropped beverage on patient	31	9.5
Beverage spilled on patient, not further specified	31	9.5
Beverage spilled on patient while sitting on someone, being carried or pushed in a stroller	17	5.2
Beverage spilled on patient while drinking or attempting to drink it	14	4.3
Put hand or foot in cup containing beverage	5	1.5
Total	325	100.0

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BODY PART BURNED

Up to three body parts may be specified for each record. One hundred and thirty patients burned more than one body part (40.0%): 78 patients (24.0%) burned two body parts and 52 patients (16.0%) burned at least three body parts.

		NUMBER		PERCENT OF INJURIES
Trunk			171	33.7
	chest abdomen back thorax other	122 32 12 1 4
Upper extremity			144	28.4
	forearm, wrist upper arm, elbow hand, finger	53 50 41
Head, neck			105	20.7
	face neck internal mouth	69 34 2
Lower extremity			83	16.4
	upper leg, knee foot lower leg, ankle	40 26 17
Eye injury			1	0.2
Unspecified			3	0.6
Total			507	100.0

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TREATMENT PROVIDED IN THE EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT

	NUMBER	PERCENT OF INJURIES
Left without being seen	3	0.9
Advice only, or treatment with no need for follow-up	65	20.0
Treated, medical follow-up required	216	66.5
Admitted to hospital	41	12.6*
Fatal injury	0**	0.0
Total	325	100.0

^* The percentage of all CHIRPP injuries in 1996 that resulted in hospital admission was 5.8%.
^** Fatalities counted by CHIRPP include only those patients who were dead on arrival at the emergency department or who died in the emergency department. They do not include people who died before they could be taken to hospital or those who died after hospital admission. Only 0.03% of all CHIRPP injuries were fatal during 1996.

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PROFILE OF PATIENTS ADMITTED TO HOSPITAL

Of the 41 patients admitted to hospital, 21 were males and 20 were females; 11 patients were less than 1 year of age, 24 patients were 1 year old and 6 patients were 2-4 years of age.

Twenty-three patients were burned by tea, 14 patients were burned by coffee and 4 patients were burned by hot milk or hot chocolate.

Twenty-two patients burned their face or their neck, 12 patients burned their chest, 4 patients burned their arm and 3 patients burned their leg or foot.

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SUGGESTED REFERENCE AND REPORTING INFORMATION

This report and data from it may be copied and circulated freely, provided that the source is acknowledged. The following citation is recommended:

Injury data were obtained from the database of the Canadian Hospitals Injury Reporting and Prevention Program (CHIRPP), Public Health Agency of Canada.

If data from this report are included in any other document or publication, it should be noted, where appropriate, that the information comes from sixteen hospitals (ten pediatric and six general) across Canada.

For additional information on the CHIRPP program, please contact the Child Injury Section, Public Health Agency of Canada by phone at (613) 941-9918 or by FAX at (613) 941-9927.