Clinical features and related factors of child burn victims

The objective was to evaluate the main clinical characteristics and related factors of children who were burned hospitalized in a Burn Treatment Center in the city of Fortaleza-Ceará-Brazil. Documentary, retrospective study with quantitative approach. Carried out in a Burn Treatment Center, with analysis of 155 children's records. For data collection, identification data, burn classification, burned body surface, hospital stay, related factors, nursing diagnoses, and decision-making in the face of clinical conditions were analyzed. It was evidenced that 59.4% of the children were male, 61.3% from the interior of the state. Regarding clinical characteristics, it was found: 69.7% of burns were due to scalding, 69.0% classified as 2nd degree, affecting the limbs in 76.2% of the cases, with an average of 15% of the burned body surface area. The mean length of hospital stay was longer than 10 days. As decision-making, balneotherapy/mechanical debridement and occlusive dressing were performed in 74.2%, and skin grafting in 8.4%. The risk of impaired skin integrity was the most prevalent nursing diagnosis in 100% of cases. The identification of clinical characteristics and related factors becomes fundamental for a systematized, with the planning of actions to reduce the risks and complications related to burn.