Contact Burns From Central Heating Radiators in Adults—An Increasing Problem in an Aging Population

Abstract

Abstract The primary method of heating residential dwellings in the developed world is through central heating radiators. These appliances are a major risk factor for contact burns, especially in individuals at the extremes of age. This article presents our findings of radiator contact burns in adults treated at a regional burns service during a 6-year period. We identified a total of 116 patients and 60% were male. The mean age was 58 (range 16–97), 71% had at least one comorbidity, with a mean of 1.88 comorbidities for each patient (range 0–8). The mean TBSA was 1.7% (range 0.1–8). Thirty-three patients (26%) required at least one operation with the average number of procedures being 1.45 (range 1–4). The mean length of stay was 16 days (range 0–98) compared to 7.5 days for all admitted patients across the same period. Four patients died within 30 days of their injury, 7 within 90 days, and 16 had died within 1 year of their injury. There have been previous smaller studies looking at contact burns from radiators in both adult and pediatric populations, demonstrating a bi-modal distribution at the extremes of age. This study is the largest of its kind looking specifically at an adult population and demonstrates that these injuries tend to occur in a population with a number of other comorbidities. These patients often required prolonged hospital care.