• Fahima Begum, Ankur Khajuria, Hodan Abdi, Andrew Williams, Isabel Jones, Jorge Leon-Villapalos, Declan Collins, and Joanne Atkins.
• Burns Unit, Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, United Kingdom.
• Burns. 2019 Jun 1; 45 (4): 974-982.

IntroductionHot water bottles (HWBs) are a common domestic item in the UK. Their use is associated with burns injuries, either by contact for prolonged periods with the skin, or through the HWB leaking or bursting.MethodsWe used electronic health records to retrospectively review HWB related burns treated by the Burns Service at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital between January 2017-March 2018. We analysed the mechanism of injury, size and depth of burn, method of treatment and costs associated with HWB burns in our centre.Results80 patients sustained HWB burns during this period, with a similar incidence of contact burns (41/80, 51.3%) and scalds (38/80, 47.5%), with one steam burn. The commonest area burnt was the lower limb (40/80, 50%). Most burns had a TBSA of 1% or smaller (50/80, 62.5%). 30 patients had full thickness burns, with 37 in total received operative management. We estimate that the total cost for managing this cohort of patients was over £68,634.ConclusionsThere are a significant proportion of patients presenting with HWB burns that could be prevented, with significant impact on patient morbidity and resource burden on the NHS. Targeted public awareness campaigns are needed to ameliorate these injuries.Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

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