Upper extremity burns from woodstoves.

Twenty-one woodstove-related burns of the hand and forearm in preschool-aged children were reviewed concerning nature and mechanism of injury, treatment, and clinical course. Two distinct patterns of injury were seen: with infants less than 14 months of age, burns occurred almost exclusively when the child touched the stove intentionally, unable to distinguish it from another piece of furniture; in older children burns were always "accidental." Most burns epithelialized spontaneously with surgical intervention and without functional disability. Protective devices are available and could prevent childhood burns from woodstoves.