New research calls for improvements in pediatric burn care infrastructure across the country

The UCI Health Regional Burn Center is one of the only burn centers in Orange County equipped to treat the most complex burn patients, including children, around the clock.

Orange County is not unique in that such centers are few. This is a big problem, experts say in a review paper co-authored by Dr. James C. Zeng, a trauma, burn and critical care surgeon at UCI Health.

The newspaper says that in its current state, the United States is not prepared for a major disaster in which many people would burn to death.

Deficiencies in the availability of routine burn care for children must be addressed before it can be considered ready.

Posted in “The Current State of Care for America’s Burned Children and Opportunities for Change” surgery history open In January 2026.

an uneven network

“The current system is an uneven network with different skill levels, resources, and access,” the authors say.

Children receive burn care in a variety of settings, from verified burn centers to acute care hospitals that provide burn care. Of the 75 American Burn Association-verified programs, less than 40 are verified for pediatrics.

The authors say that climate change and the threat of nuclear, biological and other disasters have increased the need to better understand this network to prepare for the event of large-scale burn damage.

To identify these shortcomings, he personally convened the Children’s Burn Initiative:

• Improve understanding of where routine and specialist burn care is provided in the United States
• Define gaps in care for burned children, including emergency care systems
• Anticipate action plan and strategy for implementation

The group will meet again in a year to review progress.

‘Children are not small adults’

Severe burns for an adult are not the same as for a child.

Children are not small adults. “Burns affect their growth, development and long-term quality of life.”

Dr. Syed F. Saqib, medical director of UCI Health Regional Burn Center

ABA-certified burn centers like UCI Health, the county’s first, have the resources and expertise to give pediatric burn patients age-specific, family-centered care after injury recovery. It is also the county’s only burn center affiliated with an academic health system leading innovative research.

In 2025, there were 153 pediatric burn visits, almost evenly divided between children who could return home and those who required hospital care.

Children, who account for more than 1 in 4 burn cases at UCI Health, are the most commonly injured:

• Scalds (67%): Hot liquids, bath water, soups or drinks
• Contact (22%): Hot surfaces, equipment or tools
• Flame (6%): Fire, open flame

Zeng is also a professor in the Division of Trauma, Burns, Surgical Critical Care in the Department of Surgery at UC Irvine School of Medicine.