Identifying Abuse and Neglect in Hospitalized Children With Burn Injuries.

Abstract Background The purpose of this study was to identify the pattern of injuries that relates to abuse and neglect in children with burn injuries. Methods The Nationwide Readmissions Database for 2010-2014 was queried for all patients aged less than 18 y admitted with burn injuries. The primary outcome was child maltreatment identified at the index admission. The secondary outcome was readmission for maltreatment. A subgroup analysis was performed on patients without a diagnosis of maltreatment during the index admission. Multivariable logistic regression was performed for each outcome. Results There were 57,939 admissions identified and 1960 (3.4%) involved maltreatment at the index admission. Maltreatment was associated with total body surface area burned >20% (odds ratio (OR) 2.79, P  Conclusions This study demonstrates that a portion of admissions for burn injuries in children could involve maltreatment that was undiagnosed. Identifying these at-risk individuals is critical to prevention efforts.