Randomised controlled trial of thermostatic mixer valves in reducing bath hot tap water temperature in families with young children in social housing: A protocol

Randomised controlled trial of thermostatic mixer valves in reducing bath hot tap water temperature in families with young children in social housing: A protocol

Trials, March 2008

18348736

Denise Kendrick, Jane Stewart, Carol Coupland, Michael Hayes, Nick Hopkins, Debbie McCabe, Robert Murphy, George O'Donnell, Ceri Phillips, David Radford, Jackie Ryan, Sherie Smith, Lindsay Groom, Elizabeth Towner

Each year in the UK 2000 children attend emergency departments and 500 are admitted to hospital following a bath water scald. The long term effects can include disability, disfigurement or psychological harm and repeated skin grafts may be required as the child grows. The costs of treating a severe scald are estimated at 250,000 GBP. Children living in the most deprived wards are at greatest risk of thermal injuries; hospital admission rates are three times that for children living in the least deprived wards.Domestic hot water, which is usually stored at around 60 degrees Celsius, can result in a second-degree burn after 3 seconds and a third-degree burn after 5 seconds. Educational strategies to encourage testing of tap water temperature and reduction of hot water thermostat settings have largely proved unsuccessful. Legislation in the USA mandating pre-setting hot water heater thermostats at 49 degrees Celsius was effective in reducing scald injuries, suggesting passive measures may have a greater impact. Thermostatic mixer valves (TMVs), recently developed for the domestic market, fitted across the hot and cold water supply pipes of the bath, allow delivery of water set at a fixed temperature from the hot bath tap. These valves therefore offer the potential to reduce scald injuries.