Elsevier

Burns

Volume 30, Issue 6, September 2004, Pages 600-602
Burns

Case report
Pulmonary contusion—an unusual firework injury

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.burns.2004.01.022Get rights and content

Introduction

In Great Britain the majority of firework injuries occur during late October to early November in the build-up and celebration of Guy Fawkes’ Night on 5 November. Despite many high profile safety campaigns, the number of firework injuries sustained in children under 13 has remained relatively static over the last 6 years [1]. Burns are the most common type of firework injury with eye injuries, open wounds and finger amputations all reported in lesser numbers. We present the case of a child who sustained significant pulmonary contusion following a firework injury in Bradford on Guy Fawkes’ Night 2003.

Section snippets

Case report

A 6-year-old male child was celebrating Guy Fawkes’ Night with family and friends in the back garden of his home. During the private firework display, an ‘air bomb’ firework fell over and fired a flaming ball into the right side of the boy’s chest. Thereafter, the flaming ball exploded. He was brought to the Accident and Emergency (A&E) Department by his parents where he was transferred immediately to the resuscitation room.

On initial assessment, there was evidence of the explosive injury on

Discussion

Despite the safety campaigns and efforts to ban certain types of fireworks, there were 1017 firework injuries in Great Britain during 2002 [1]. Burn injuries on the hand and head were responsible for over half of the firework injuries with eye injuries, lacerations and other burns responsible for the remaining cases. Even with thorough search over Medline, pubMed and other databases, no such reported cases of firework injury causing pulmonary contusion in the scientific literature could be

Conclusion

The spectrum and severity of injuries that can result from fireworks is enormous. Whilst the majority of the firework injuries are burns, eye injuries and lacerations, the extent to which fireworks may inflict deeper tissue damage should not be underestimated. In patients who have sustained a missile or explosive firework injury to the chest, conducting a complete examination to detect for the presence of underlying rib fractures or pulmonary injury should be sought, and if present, must be

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