• Kathryn J Nelson and Elizabeth A Beierle.
• Division of Pediatric Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Florida, PO Box 100286, Gainesville, FL 32610-0286, USA.
• J. Pediatr. Surg. 2005 Apr 1; 40 (4): E43-6.

Background/PurposeThe authors had noted a number of children who had sustained burn injuries from the exhaust systems of recreational vehicles and wished to document the incidence of pediatric burn injury sustained from the exhaust systems of a wide scope of motorized vehicles.MethodsThe authors conducted a 10-year retrospective chart review including all children admitted to our institution with burn injuries from contact with vehicular exhaust systems.ResultsTwenty-three children were included. There were 18 boys, with a median patient age of 7 years. Most children (7 of 23) were injured from the exhaust systems of all-terrain vehicles. The average burn size (5%) was small, but almost two thirds of the burn injuries were full thickness. Of the 23 children, 21 required operative intervention for their burns, with 2 children requiring multiple surgical interventions. The average length of hospital stay was 11 days, and all children, except one who went to a rehabilitation facility, were discharged to home.ConclusionsPediatric health care providers should be aware that exhaust system contact burns in children are not rare events and they do tend to be significant. Surgical consultation should be requested early in the management of these particular burn injuries in children.

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