Pediatric Burn Injuries in Southwestern Saudi Arabia: Injury Patterns, Delayed Presentation, Admission Infection, and Inpatient Burden

Objectives: To characterize the epidemiology, injury patterns, management, and outcomes of pediatric burn admissions at King Fahad Hospital in AlBaha, Saudi Arabia, and to describe the clinical profile of children presenting more than 24 hours after injury. Material and Methods: This retrospective observational study included 72 inpatients aged ≤16 years with burn-related encounters from July 16, 2020, to March 4, 2026. Demographic, injury, treatment, complication, and hospital-course data were extracted from medical records. Delayed presentation was defined as presentation >24 hours after injury. Hospital length of stay was evaluated using negative-binomial regression. Results: Median age was 2.0 years, scalds accounted for 72.2% of burns, and 85.1% of injuries with documented location occurred at home. Median total body surface area (TBSA) was 7.0%, and 63.9% had a deep partial- or full-thickness component. Among 66 children with known presentation timing, 13 (19.7%) presented after >24 hours and had smaller burns than the reference group, with median TBSA 3.5% versus 8.0%. Eight delayed presenters had burn-wound infection documented at admission. Excluding admission infection, other complications occurred in 69.2% versus 32.1%, respectively. Each 5-percentage-point increase in TBSA was associated with a 25% increase in expected hospital length of stay. Conclusion: Pediatric burns predominantly involved young children with household scald injuries. Delayed presenters represented a smaller-burn subgroup frequently arriving with established wound problems, while burn extent was the clearest predictor of inpatient burden.