J. A. Cook1, S. E. Sasor1, S. P. Duquette1, M. P. Landman2, S. S. Tholpady1,3, M. W. Chu1,3 1Indiana University School Of Medicine,Division Of Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery,Indianapolis, IN, USA 2Indiana University School Of Medicine,Department Of Surgery,Indianapolis, IN, USA 3R.L Roudebush VA Medical Center,Division Of Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery,Indianapolis, IN, USA
Introduction: The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) was passed in 2008 to improve testing and standardize the quality of manufactured products. Electronic toys and devices are common in today’s market and pose risks to the user. The purpose of this study is to characterize burn injuries caused by consumer devices in the pediatric population and to determine the impact of the CPSIA.
Methods: The National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) database was used to collect data on pediatric burns between 2000 and 2015. Thermal and electric burns from cell phones, batteries, and electronic toys were included. Age, gender, affected body part, mechanism of injury, and fire department involvement were recorded. Binary values were calculated using a Chi-square goodness-of-fit test.
Results: A total of 126 pediatric burns were identified. The majority of patients were male (60.3%) and mean age was 8.3 years. Thirty-eight pediatric burn cases were identified before 2008; 88 cases were identified after 2008. The proportion of contact burns before 2008 (0.18) was significantly less than the proportion of contact burns after 2008 (0.44), X2 = 7.68, p < 0.01. Before 2008, the leg was the most affected body part (0.39); after 2008, the proportion of leg burns significantly decreased (0.17), X2 = 7.359, p = 0.01. Hand injuries significantly increased after 2008 (0.50) as compared to before 2008 (0.26), X2 = 6.08, p = 0.01. The proportion of cell phone injuries before 2008 (0.16) was significantly less than the proportion of cell phone injuries after 2008 (0.39), X2 = 6.39, p = 0.01. A significantly smaller proportion of powered scooter burns occurred after 2008 (0.09) as compared to before (0.36), X2 = 14.18, p < 0.01. The proportion of cases admitted to the burn unit did not differ before (0.03) or after 2008 (0.08), X2 = 1.27, p = 0.26.
Conclusions: The overall incidence of pediatric burns caused by electronic devices was low, both before and after 2008. The enactment of the Consumer Product Safety Information Act has not affected the severity of burns based on the number of patients requiring hospital admissions. However, the mechanism of burn and affected area did change significantly. Providers should be aware of these patterns in pediatric patients and should educate guardians about these risks.