Burns 28 (2002) 374–378 Campfire burns in children: an Australian experience Kelvin L. Choo * , John F. Fraser, Roy M. Kimble Stuart Pegg Paediatric Burns Centre, Royal Children’s Hospital, Brisbane, Qld, Australia Accepted 16 November 2001 Abstract Objectives: To document and describe the effects of campfire burns on children. To identify the sources of danger contributing to such injuries, so that a prevention strategy can be devised. Design, patients and setting: Departmental database and case note review of all children with campfire burns seen at the Burns Unit of a tertiary referral children’s hospital between January 1999 and June 2001. Main outcome measures: Number and ages of children burned; risk factors contributing to the accidents; injuries sustained; treatment required and long-term sequelae. Results: Thirty-three children, median age 2.5 years, sustained burns, usually to the hands and feet, with eight requiring surgery and the majority requiring some form of scar therapy. Seventy-four percent of the children were burned by hot ashes and coals, usually from the previous night’s fire, rather than by open flames. Conclusions: Campfires cause serious injuries to children. In particular, hot ashes and coals from inadequately extinguished campfires pose the greatest danger. Increasing the awareness of this easily preventable problem amongst campers is intended through a public education campaign. © 2002 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. and ISBI. Keywords: Campfire; Burns; Children; Prevention 1. Introduction There has been an alarming rise in the number of chil- dren burned by campfires treated at our centre. The extent of the problem is documented in this paper. Campfire burns are most frequently sustained after a fire is considered ex- tinguished and are largely preventable. The popularity of camping in Australia and the frequency we are seeing chil- dren burned by campfires points to the need for greater pub- lic awareness of the problem. 2. Methods The Stuart Pegg Paediatric Burns Centre is based at the Royal Children’s Hospital in Brisbane. It provides compre- hensive inpatient and outpatient care to approximately 250 new children with burns annually. It is the only dedicated centre for the treatment of paediatric burns in the state of * Corresponding author. Present address: Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Foundation Building, Royal Children’s Hospital, Herston Road, Herston, Qld 4029, Australia. Tel.: +61-7-3365-5338; fax: +61-7-3365-5455. E-mail address: kelmar97@hotmail.com (K.L. Choo). Queensland as well as adjoining regions of neighbouring states, Papua New Guinea and the regional Pacific. Children who sustained campfire burns during the pe- riod January 1999 until June 2001 were identified using our computerised departmental database. Information regarding these patients was extracted from the database and from hos- pital medical records and included: • Demographic data and the details regarding the site of the accident and the location of the campfire. • The events leading up to the accident. • The areas of the body and percentage of the total body surface area (BSA) burned. • The acute treatment undertaken, including dressings and surgical intervention. • Subsequent treatment including scar therapy and contrac- ture releases. 3. Results Thirty-three children with campfire burns were treated during the period of the study. The median age was 2.5 years (range 1.1–12.6) with a slight preponderance of males (18/33; 55%). Fifty-eight percent (n = 19) were aged 4 years 0305-4179/02/$22.00 © 2002 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. and ISBI. PII:S0305-4179(02)00019-0