Aetiology of burn injuries in childhood in Casablanca, Morocco: epidemiological data and preventive aspects.

A retrospective epidemiological study is reported concerning burn injuries in 775 children hospitalized at the unit of burn care of Casablanca between 1985 and 1993. The mean age was 3 years and 8 months; 69.9 per cent of the patients were below 5 years old. The male to female ratio was 1.43 to 1.0. The most common agents were scalding liquids (69.1 per cent) followed by flames (15.2 per cent). The authors underline through this report that preventive measures depend closely on the regional, environmental and sociocultural specificity.