Effects of COVID-19 lockdown on the demand for health care of children and adolescents with burns

COVID-19 pandemic has meant adapting to a different reality, with long-term lockdowns that might cause an increase of burns in children at home. Objective: To compare the epidemiological situation of patients admitted to the Corporacion de Ayuda al Nino Quemado (COANIQUEM) due to outpatient burn injuries management at the beginning of COVID-19 lockdown with the same period the year before. Patients and Methods: Analytical and cross-sectional study. A population of 2,027 patients under the age of 20, who were admitted to COANIQUEM for the first time with burn injuries, between April and July of 2019 and 2020 was analyzed. The number of patients admitted each month was registered as well as their demographic, social, and clinical characteristics. The monthly percentage variation was calculated by comparing patient data in both years. Results: During 2020, there was a 48.7% decrease in overall outpatient admissions. There was a relative increase of 10.5% in burns in patients under 5 years old, 18.3% in scalds, 33.1% in the number of burns in 3 or more body locations, and 16.8% in burns occurring at home. These parameters were not influenced by geographic location, sex, or socioeconomic level. Conclusions: In the first period of the COVID-19 pandemic, with strict lockdown strategies, there was a decrease in the demand for burn care, affecting both outpatients with acute burns and those who were admitted for sequelae rehabilitation, as a result of the effective decrease in the burns incidence and the reduced access to health care.