Perfil epidemiológico y características clínicas de las quemaduras en pacientes atendidos en un instituto especializado en pediatría de Perú, 2025

Resumen

Objective: To describe the epidemiological profile and clinical characteristics of burns in pediatric patients treated at the National Institute of Child Health, in Lima, Peru, 2025. Materials and methods: An observational and descriptive study was conducted based on a review of the medical records of patients under 18 years of age diagnosed with burns and subsequently registered in the RELAQ platform. Sociodemographic, clinical, injury event-related, treatment, and outcome variables were collected. The analysis was descriptive using measures of central tendency and frequencies, with Stata v17. Results: Of the 202 patients, the majority were male (58.9%), with a median age of 3 years (IQR: 1–7), and 52.0% resided in Metropolitan Lima. A higher frequency of injuries was recorded in January, August, and December, and around 10:00 AM. The main causative agent was contact with hot liquids (77.2%), occurring in the home (70.8%). The majority received hospital care (94.6%) and were admitted for an acute event (72.8%). Small burns predominated (<10%), with the trunk being the most affected region (35.8%). 36.6% did not receive first aid at the time of the event. Conclusion: Burns primarily affected preschool-aged children and occurred mainly in the home environment, most often due to contact with hot liquids. The trunk was the most frequently affected body region. Most cases required hospital management and involved a low percentage of total body surface area burned. These findings highlight the need to strengthen prevention strategies and improve the quality of clinical records to optimize epidemiological surveillance.