Burns, 2014, Advance online publication, 19 October 2014 (7 pages)

This retrospective two year study reports data from 730 children aged 14 years or younger who sustained a scald between 2009 and 2010 based on data extracted from the Burns Registry of Australia and New Zealand. Scald injury contributed 56% of all pediatric burns. There were two high risk groups; male toddlers age one to two, contributing 34% of all scalds, and indigenous children who were over 3 times more likely to experience a scald requiring admission to a burns unit than their non-indigenous peers. First aid cooling by non-professionals was initiated in 89% of cases but only 20% performed it as recommended. in this study, "ten cases were reported as suspicious for intentional maltreatment of the child, inflicted by parent or partner, which accounts for 1.4% of all scald cases. Internationally, intentional harm caused by burns contributes up to 16% of the pediatric burns population and [26] and represents one of the more common mechanisms of abuse in this setting. Several reasons may have influenced the low proportion of recorded intentional burns in this population, including the data point being reliant on documented suspicion by the clinical staff and the awareness for potential assaults and the fact that previous studies include burns of all causes (e.g. including cigarette burns or iron burns". International data from three studies is referenced.