Context/Epidemiology 2

  • Overall, flame injuries are the most common cause of burns, followed by scalds. Electrical and chemical injuries are much less common.1
  • However, the types of burn sustained are different in different groups of people; in children the most common type of burn is a scald, whereas in adults flame burns are the most common.1,6
  • Figure 1 shows the causes of burns by type and figure 2 shows the incidence of burns by age.
Figure 1
Figure 2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

adapted from: http://www.bmj.com/content/328/7452/1366.long