Children under 4 and over 50 are the main victims of burns. According to the INVS report, 9,000 people are hospitalized each year for burns.
Burns are a common household accident. No less than 9,000 people are hospitalized each year in France. It is the balance sheet thatThe Institut de Veille Sanitaire (InVS) delivered on May 6 in a study on hospital admissions for burns in France and their evolution. And the main lesson of this study is the sketch of the main burn victims.
A quarter of those hospitalized are under 4 years old
Little boy, burnt to the head and neck: this is the typical portrait of the patient hospitalized for burns in 2011. In one in four cases, the hospitalized burn victim is a child aged 0 to 4 years. It is by far the most affected population. While the average is 13 hospitalizations per 10,000 inhabitants, it climbs to 30 events in this age group. A peak that can be explained by the beginnings of walking and the first accidents of children who are unaware of the risks.
The second age group that burns the most is also the most fragile: those over 50 represent a quarter of hospitalizations… and half of burn deaths concern patients over 65 years of age. Moreover, the average age of major burns is changing: between 2008 and 2011, it went from 61 to 64, and the prevalence of burns has increased among those over 85.
One week of hospitalization on average
The youngest burn themselves more, but they also spend less time in the hospital. They stay on average 4 days in the hospital, against a general average of one week… but they also return more often to the emergency room for the same accident. Those under 15 represent three quarters of the rehospitalized population. Those over 65, for their part, spend twice as long after a serious burn but rarely return.
Even by studying the peaks of burns during the year, these two age groups stand out. The general population is injured more when the good weather returns, thanks to sunbathing and barbecues. Children and seniors are injured more between November and March. At the top of the burnt parts of the body: head and neck, wrist and hand, trunk.
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