Speaker: Kathrina Epino

The World Health Organization places burn injuries as the 5th most common cause of non-fatal childhood injuries. A query of the WHO Global Burn Registry in 2021 showed over 8,000 burn injuries recorded from 20 countries. 40% were children, with the most numbers in the 1–5-year age group. More than half of these pediatric burn injuries occurred in middle-income countries. Burn injuries in children carried a 10% mortality rate, while disability on discharge was at 7%. (Jordan et al. 2022)

Children, particularly those under 5, have been established to be the most vulnerable population for contracting burn injuries. Children are most at risk from consequences following a burn. Pain is a significant issue and, if poorly controlled, can affect the delivery of necessary interventions. Children are prone to develop contractures due to their small body size. Burn injuries are also known to cause physical and psychological trauma. (Woolard et al. 2021) Consequently, disability from disfigurement, functional limitation, and ongoing pain can happen even after discharge. Children’s caregivers are similarly met with physical and psychological burdens.

Opportunities for pain management interventions begin at the place of injury, all the way to admission, and even upon discharge. This talk will present the epidemiology and consequent morbidity of burn injuries in children. Current data on managing pain at different stages during the child’s burn injury will be discussed alongside our own local experience and adaptations at the University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital Burn Center. The role of economics and culture in pain and its management will also be highlighted.



Learning Objectives:
1. To describe the epidemiology and burden of burn injuries
2. To summarise relevant evidence in burn pain management and procedural analgesia
3. To demonstrate adaptations made in a general hospital to improve burn-associated pain in children