Sheller J L, Thuesen B
Department of Plastic Surgery and Burns Treatment, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Burns. 1998 Aug;24(5):420-4. doi: 10.1016/s0305-4179(98)00040-0.
Electrical kettles (el-kettles) were virtually unknown in Danish households in the mid-1980s, but have since become more common. In 1996, (65 per cent of all Danish households had an el-kettle. As the number of el-kettles have increased, so have the number of scalds caused by water from toppled el-kettles. The first patient with an el-kettle scald was admitted to the Burns Centre at Hvidovre hospital in 1988. From 1988 to 1993 29 patients were admitted with this type of scald; 15 patients in 1993 alone. All the patients were toddlers 5-30 months of age. When el-kettle scalds were compared to scalds caused by other mechanisms in children under 5 years of age, it was found that the former occurred to younger children than the latter (60 per cent of el-kettle scalded children were less than 1 year of age compared to 28 per cent scalded by other means), the scalds were more extensive (median of TBSA were 13 per cent and 6 per cent, respectively), and the scalds were deeper (53 per cent and 24 per cent, respectively, needed skin-grafting). In 1993 campaigns were started to inform parents that the cord of the el-kettle should be short and not hang over the edge of the table. In the following years a considerable decrease in the number of el-kettle scalds was found. When the number of expected el-kettle scalds was estimated from the number of Danish households having an el-kettle, it was found that more than half the expected number of el-kettle scalds were avoided.
20世纪80年代中期，电水壶在丹麦家庭中几乎无人知晓，但此后变得越来越普遍。1996年，65%的丹麦家庭拥有电水壶。随着电水壶数量的增加，因打翻的电水壶中的水导致的烫伤数量也在增加。1988年，第一位因电水壶烫伤的患者被送往维德奥医院的烧伤中心。从1988年到1993年，有29名此类烫伤患者入院；仅1993年就有15名患者。所有患者均为5至30个月大的幼儿。将电水壶烫伤与5岁以下儿童因其他原因导致的烫伤进行比较时发现，前者发生在比后者更小的儿童身上（60%的电水壶烫伤儿童年龄小于1岁，而其他方式烫伤的这一比例为28%），烫伤范围更广（总体表面积的中位数分别为13%和6%），烫伤程度更深（分别有53%和24%的患者需要植皮）。1993年开展了宣传活动，告知家长电水壶的电源线应该短，且不要垂在桌子边缘。在接下来的几年里，发现电水壶烫伤的数量大幅下降。根据拥有电水壶的丹麦家庭数量估算电水壶烫伤的预期数量时发现，超过一半的电水壶烫伤预期数量得以避免。
