A multicenter study of preventable contact burns from glass fronted gas fireplaces

Lucy Wibbenmeyer, From the *Department of Surgery, The University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City; †Division of Emergency Medicine, Comprehensive Children's Injury Center, Cincinnati Children's Hospital, Ohio; ‡Department of Surgery, University of Utah, Salt Lake City; §Department of Surgery, Children's Hospital, Denver, Colorado; ‖Department of Surgery, Shriners Hospital for Children - Boston; ¶Department of Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston; #Harvard Medical School, Boston; **Department of Surgery, University of Nebraska, Omaha; ††Department of Surgery, Hospital for Sick Children Toronto, Ontario, Canada; ‡‡Department of Surgery, Hennepin County Hospital, St. Paul, Minnesota; §§Department of Surgery, Loyola University, Chicago, Illinois; ‖‖Department of Surgery, Arizona Burn Center, Maricopa Medical Center, Phoenix, Arizona; ¶¶Department of Surgery, Clark Burn Center, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, New York; ##Department of Surgery, Akron Children's Hospital, Ohio; ***Department of Surgery, Shriners Hospital for Children - Northern California Sacramento, California; †††Department of Burn Medicine, West Hills Hospital West Hills, California; ‡‡‡Department of Surgery, Shriners Hospital for Children - Cincinnati, Ohio; §§§Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond, Virginia; ‖‖‖Department of Surgery, Bridgeport Hospital, Connecticut; ¶¶¶Department of Surgery, Rhode Island Hospital, Providence; and ###Burn Prevention Network.
Michael A. Gittelman
Karen Kluesner
Junlin Liao
Yunfan Xing
Iris Faraklas
Walter Anyan
Chelsea Gamero
Steven Moulton
Cindy Nederveld
Ashley Banks
Colleen M. Ryan
Jennifer A. Conway
Debra A. Reilly
Joel Fish
Charis Kelly
George Peltier
Emily Schwantke
Peggie F. Conrad
Daniel M. Caruso
Karen J. Richey
Kristine McCrory
Mohamed S. Elfar
Timothy Pittinger
Christine Sadie
David GreenhalghFollow
Tina Palmieri
Peter H. Grossman
Kurt M. Richards
Teresa Joyce
Andrea L. Pozez
Alisa SavetamalFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Journal of burn care & research : official publication of the American Burn Association

Abstract

Glass fronted gas fireplaces (GFGFs) have exterior surfaces that can reach extremely high temperatures. Burn injuries from contact with the glass front can be severe with long-term sequelae. The Consumer Product Safety Commission reported that these injuries are uncommon, whereas single-center studies indicate a much higher frequency. The purpose of this multi-institutional study was to determine the magnitude and severity of GFGF injuries in North America. Seventeen burn centers elected to participate in this retrospective chart review. Chart review identified 402 children ≤10 years of age who sustained contact burns from contact with GFGF, who were seen or admitted to the study hospitals from January 2006 to December 2010. Demographic, burn, treatment, and financial data were collected. The mean age of the study group was 16.8 ± 13.3 months. The majority suffered burns to their hands (396, 98.5%), with burns to the face being the second, much less common site (14, 3.5%). Two hundred and sixty-nine required rehabilitation therapy (66.9%). The number of GFGF injuries reported was 20 times greater than the approximately 30 injuries estimated by the Consumer Product Safety Commission's 10-year review. For the affected children, these injuries are painful, often costly and occasionally can lead to long-term sequelae. Given that less than a quarter of burn centers contributed data, the injury numbers reported herein support a need for broader safety guidelines for gas fireplaces in order to have a significant impact on future injuries.

First Page

240

Last Page

5

DOI

10.1097/BCR.0000000000000215

Publication Date

1-1-2015

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