Has the energy poverty crisis fuelled a rise in hot water bottle burn injuries within the United Kingdom?
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| Název: | Has the energy poverty crisis fuelled a rise in hot water bottle burn injuries within the United Kingdom? |
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| Autoři: | Chu, M. H., Yarlagadda, L., Wearn, M. C. |
| Přispěvatelé: | Burns (Department of), Chu, Howard |
| Informace o vydavateli: | Elsevier |
| Rok vydání: | 2025 |
| Sbírka: | RD&E Research Repository (Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust) |
| Témata: | Humans, Burns/epidemiology/etiology/economics, Child, Infant, Preschool, Adult, Female, Male, Adolescent, United Kingdom/epidemiology, Young Adult, Middle Aged, Aged, Poverty/statistics & numerical data, Hot Temperature/adverse effects, Newborn, Age Distribution, Wales/epidemiology, Accidents, Home/statistics & numerical data, Databases, Factual, Energy, Hot water bottle, Poverty, Warmth |
| Popis: | INTRODUCTION: There are an estimated 10 million hot water bottles (HWB) currently in use within the United Kingdom (UK), and HWB related burn injuries represent a significant resource burden to UK Burns Services. These injuries can be caused through a variety of mechanisms including scalds sustained when filling the bottle or scalds from leaking or rupture. The fuel poverty crisis started in February 2022 leading to an estimated six-fold increase in alternative sources of heating, in particular hot water bottles. In this study, we wish to understand the impact that this may have had upon burn injuries sustained by these products. METHODS: All hot water bottle (HWB)-related injuries sustained January 2014 - February 2023 were retrieved from the UK International Burn Injury Database (IBID). Data were collected on patient demographics, injury mechanism, anatomical location, and clinical outcomes. The data were collated and analysed; statistical analysis was performed using R StudioTM. Patient levelling costs were also incorporated to enable translation of these data into healthcare costs. RESULTS: A total of 5944 HWB-related burn injuries were recorded in the IBID database in England and Wales, from 2014 to 2023, with a mean of 594 (SD 146.2) burn injuries annually, costing an estimated £ 12.7 million. There were 423 burn injuries sustained from HWB in winter 2022 compared to 295 in winter 2021, representing a 43.4 % increase over one year, with a corresponding increase of 43.1 % in the number of patients managed in an outpatient setting. The largest increase in burn incidence between winter 2021 and winter 2022 was seen in children (0-16 years old) and older adults (greater than 65 years old) with a rise of 60.3 % (n = 41) and 68.5 % (n = 37) respectively. CONCLUSION: Our epidemiological study on hot water bottle (HWB)-related burn injuries within the United Kingdom has shown that the dramatic rise in fuel prices, which sparked the fuel poverty crises, has coincided with a 43.4 % increase in HWB burns incidence on ... |
| Druh dokumentu: | article in journal/newspaper |
| Jazyk: | English |
| Relation: | https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0305-4179(24)00296-1; Chu MH, Yarlagadda L, Wearn MC. Has the energy poverty crisis fuelled a rise in hot water bottle burn injuries within the United Kingdom? Burns : journal of the International Society for Burn Injuries. 2024;50(9):107275.; Burns; https://hdl.handle.net/11287/623489 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.burns.2024.09.014 |
| Dostupnost: | https://hdl.handle.net/11287/623489 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.burns.2024.09.014 |
| Rights: | © 2024 Elsevier Ltd and International Society of Burns Injuries. All rights reserved. |
| Přístupové číslo: | edsbas.75E8D87C |
| Databáze: | BASE |
Nájsť tento článok vo Web of Science | Abstrakt: | INTRODUCTION: There are an estimated 10 million hot water bottles (HWB) currently in use within the United Kingdom (UK), and HWB related burn injuries represent a significant resource burden to UK Burns Services. These injuries can be caused through a variety of mechanisms including scalds sustained when filling the bottle or scalds from leaking or rupture. The fuel poverty crisis started in February 2022 leading to an estimated six-fold increase in alternative sources of heating, in particular hot water bottles. In this study, we wish to understand the impact that this may have had upon burn injuries sustained by these products. METHODS: All hot water bottle (HWB)-related injuries sustained January 2014 - February 2023 were retrieved from the UK International Burn Injury Database (IBID). Data were collected on patient demographics, injury mechanism, anatomical location, and clinical outcomes. The data were collated and analysed; statistical analysis was performed using R StudioTM. Patient levelling costs were also incorporated to enable translation of these data into healthcare costs. RESULTS: A total of 5944 HWB-related burn injuries were recorded in the IBID database in England and Wales, from 2014 to 2023, with a mean of 594 (SD 146.2) burn injuries annually, costing an estimated £ 12.7 million. There were 423 burn injuries sustained from HWB in winter 2022 compared to 295 in winter 2021, representing a 43.4 % increase over one year, with a corresponding increase of 43.1 % in the number of patients managed in an outpatient setting. The largest increase in burn incidence between winter 2021 and winter 2022 was seen in children (0-16 years old) and older adults (greater than 65 years old) with a rise of 60.3 % (n = 41) and 68.5 % (n = 37) respectively. CONCLUSION: Our epidemiological study on hot water bottle (HWB)-related burn injuries within the United Kingdom has shown that the dramatic rise in fuel prices, which sparked the fuel poverty crises, has coincided with a 43.4 % increase in HWB burns incidence on ... |
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| DOI: | 10.1016/j.burns.2024.09.014 |