A Histologic Perspective on Electrical and Thermal Burn-Injured Human Skin.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze specific spectroscopic (FT-Raman) and thermal (limiting oxygen index) aspects of skin samples exposed to electrical injury compared with thermal injury. METHODS: An observational case-control study was conducted at the Dr Stanislaw Sakiel Center for Burns Treatment in Siemianowice, Silesia, Poland. A scanning electron microscope was used to diagnose and illustrate the topography of skin samples from electrical and thermal burns and the morphologic effects on damaged versus undamaged skin surfaces. In particular, researchers attempted to detect spectroscopic and thermal changes at the molecular level, namely, specific biomarkers of tissue degeneration and their regeneration under the influence of the applied modifiers (antioxidants and orthosilicic acid solutions). RESULTS: Modification with L-ascorbic acid and hydrogel of orthosilicic acid caused an increase in the intensity of the amide I Raman peaks, whereas modification with sodium ascorbate and orthosilicic acid resulted in the separation of the band protein side chains (1,440-1,448 cm), which is a part of tissue regeneration. The best result was obtained when the skin was treated with 7% orthosilicic acid (limiting oxygen index, 26%). CONCLUSIONS: Antioxidant treatment may be advantageous in minimizing injury in patients with thermal burns but not always in electrical burns.

Epidemiology and outcomes of burn injuries at a tertiary burn care center in Bangladesh.

Globally, burns are among some of the most devastating injuries and account for more than 265,000 deaths worldwide. In Bangladesh alone, nearly 3000 people die annually from burn-related injuries. This study was conducted at the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery in Dhaka, Bangladesh in June of 2016. Data included conducting surveys of hospitalized burn patients (N=66) and a chart review of deceased burn patients (N=88). In addition to reporting on the demographic profile of patients, information was also obtained on clinical measures during hospitalization. For non-fatal burns, high risk groups included young adult males (early 30s) of lower socioeconomic status. Among children, the most vulnerable group was found to be children less than eight years old. The most common non-fatal types of burn injuries were flame (35%), electrical (31%) and scald (24%). Discharged patients had an average hospital stay of around 30days with half of all patients requiring surgical intervention, thus indicating the severity of those cases and the need for resource-intensive care. Among the discharged patient population, factors significantly associated with a longer duration of hospital stay included severity of injury, not having received prior treatment before admission and whether or not patients required surgery during hospitalization. Among the mortality cases, the high-risk groups also included young adult males and children of around eight years of age. The average total body surface area (TBSA) sustained in these cases was 46.4%, with 65% of deaths attributable to complications from flame burns. These findings highlight the frequency and severity of burn injuries, identify vulnerable population groups and list common causes of burns in this large developing country of 160 million people. Furthermore, these findings may be applicable to the epidemiology and outcome of burns in similar low and middle income countries.

Fisiopatología de las quemaduras eléctricas: artículo de revisión / Physiopathology of electrical burns

Las quemaduras eléctricas son consideradas uno de los traumas más drásticos al cual puede verse expuesto un individuo, que afecta directa o indirectamente a casi todos los sistemas del cuerpo humano. Este tipo de trauma tiene efectos locales y sistémicos poco comprendidos por la mayoría del personal de salud. El objetivo de éste artículo es ofrecer una explicación completa, que permita al lector entender mejor la fisiopatología de este tipo de trauma y por lo tanto se manifieste en el actuar diario del personal de salud.

Electric burns are one of the most drastic traumas to which an individual can be exposed, They can directly or indirectly compromise almost all the systems of the human body, this type of trauma has local and systemic effects little understood by the majority of health personnel. The objective of this article is to offer a complete explanation, allowing the reader to better understand the pathophysiology of this type of trauma and therefore manifest in the daily actions of health personnel.

Factors affecting mortality among victims of electrical burns.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to determine the factors affecting mortality rate among patients with an electrical burn. METHODS: A total of 115 patients admitted to the emergency department and hospitalized in the Burn Treatment Center or Intensive Care Unit (ICU) due to the electrical burn, were included in the study. RESULTS: A total of 115 patients (4 female and 111 male) with a mean age of 32.88±12.87 years were included in the study. The mean hospitalization period was 25.03±20.50 days, and the mean total body surface area burned (% TBSA) was 22.83±15.54%. Among those patients, 9 (8.5%) expired, and the remaining 106 were discharged after treatment. In a logistic regression analysis, TBSA >20% (p=0.02, OR: 11.7, CI: 1.38-99.16); ICU requirement (p=0.005, OR: 1.28, CI: 1.08-1.58); erythrocyte transfusion requirement (p=0.02, OR: 12.48, CI: 1.44-107.83); fresh frozen plasma (FFP) requirement (p=0.03, OR: 10.23, CI: 1.18-88.17); albumin requirement (p=0.02, OR: 12.60, CI: 1.44-109.85); admission serum albumin level <3.5 mg/dl (p=0.04, OR: 7.25, CI: 0.82-63.64); and admission hemoglobin level <12 mg/dl (p=0.01, OR: 8.29, CI: 1.57-43.61) were determined as risk factors for mortality in patients with electrical burns. CONCLUSION: In clinical practice, defining a mortality risk analyzer using these factors may be helpful in the management of patients with electrical burns. Additional, more comprehensive studies are required to define the risk factors for mortality and long-term morbidities in patients with electrical burns.

Padronização do tratamento cirúrgico do trauma elétrico na fase aguda / Standardization of surgical treatment of acute electrical trauma

INTRODUÇÃO: As queimaduras elétricas correspondem de 5 a 15% dos casos de acidentes com queimaduras. A maioria está associada a acidentes do trabalho, nos quais predominam as lesões com alta voltagem (acima de 1.000 Volts), em pacientes do sexo masculino. As taxas de mortalidade variam de 2 a 15%, nos mais diversos centros de queimados. O objetivo é revisar padronização das etapas cirúrgicas na fase aguda de desbridamento (primeiros 15 dias) pela comparação de dosagem de creatofosfoquinase, hidratação venosa e fotografias para a aplicação de uma rotina de etapas cirúrgicas. MÉTODOS: Trata-se de um estudo quantitativo, prospectivo, realizado em um hospital público da cidade de Fortaleza, CE, entre julho de 2013 a dezembro de 2015. A população foi composta por adultos jovens, entre 15 e 50 anos, de ambos os sexos, vítimas de queimaduras por choque elétrico, com lesão de terceiro grau, no mínimo muscular. RESULTADOS: Foram realizados 12 procedimentos cirúrgicos de amputações nos 15 pacientes do estudo (60%). Seis pacientes não sofreram amputação (40%). Um paciente sofreu três procedimentos de amputação no mesmo membro (pododáctilo, pé e coxa esquerdos) e outro, duas amputações em membros superiores distintos. CONCLUSÃO: O tratamento na fase aguda do choque elétrico deve incluir uma imediata e adequada reposição líquida venosa, associada com procedimentos cirúrgicos de desbridamentos e de amputações, o mais precoce possível, em etapas com intervalos de 48 a 72 horas.

INTRODUCTION: Electrical burns are responsible for 5% to 15% of cases of burn accidents. The majority is associated with workplace accidents, in which high-voltage injuries (>1,000 V) predominate in male patients. The mortality rates vary from 2% to 15% in different burn centers. The objective is to review the standardization of surgical steps in the acute phase of debridement (the first 15 days) by comparison of creatine phosphokinase levels, intravenous hydration, and photographs to implement routine surgical stages. METHODS: This was a quantitative, prospective study performed in a public hospital in the city of Fortaleza, Brazil, between July 2013 and December 2015. The population was composed of young adults between 15 and 50 years, of both sexes, who experienced electrical burns, with third-degree injuries and muscle involvement. RESULTS: Of the 15 patients in the study, 9 (60%) patients underwent 13 surgical amputation procedures and 6 (40%) patients did not undergo amputation. One patient underwent three amputation procedures in the same limb (toe, foot, and thigh) and another patient underwent two amputations in the upper limbs. CONCLUSION: Treatment in the acute phase of electrical shock must include immediate and adequate intravenous fluid replacement, along with surgical procedures of debridement and amputations, as early as possible, in steps with intervals of 48 to 72 hours.

La quemadura eléctrica por alto voltaje es un factor predictor de mortalidad en pacientes "grandes quemados" / High voltage electrical burns as a risk factor for mortality among burn patients

Background: Electrical burns are associated with complications and may aggravate burned patients. Aim: To evaluate the effect of electrical burns in mortality and length of stay in a critical care unit for burn patients. Material and Methods: Retrospective analysis of medical records of 182 patients aged 15 to 90 years, admitted to an intensive care unit for burn patients. The length of stay and mortality of 14 patients that suffered electric burns was compared with the features of 168 patients with other type of burns. Results: Patients with electrical burns were younger, had a lower percentage of total body surface burnt and had a lower frequency of inhalatory injuries than their counterparts with other type of burns. Mortality rate among patients with electric or other types of burns was similar (three and 49 patients, respectively). Intensive care unit stay was also similar. A multivariate analysis showed that high voltage electric burns were an independent risk factor for death with an odds ratio of 12 (95 percent confidence intervals 1.8-79.4). Conclusions: High voltage electric burns are an independent risk factor for death among burn patients.

Electrical injury: a long-term analysis with review of regional differences.

Due to its relatively small share among burn injuries, published data on electrical injuries remain scarce, and differ in patient collectives due to infrastructural differences. We have retrospectively analyzed records of 56 patients who were admitted because of electrical injury to our burn center from 1994 to 2008, compared results with the current literature, and focused our review on regional differences. Patients in our collective were predominantly young men (71%, n = 40/56) and those who resulted from work-related accidents (59%, n = 33/56). The mean total burn surface area was 26%. In all, 93% of patients needed at least 1 operation, with 43% of patients requiring at least 1 surgical intervention during a follow-up hospital stay. The mean length-of-stay was 44 days. Two patients died, accounting for a mortality rate of 3.6%. When comparing high to low-voltage injuries, patients in the former group were significantly younger, had more operations, and required a longer length-of-stay. With respect to work-related high-voltage injuries, job-specific male-predominance explains for the demographic distribution of admissions. Low-voltage injuries continue to have low mortality rates in this part of Europe, most likely as a result of established high security standards as well as access to emergency treatment with subsequent intensive and specialist surgical care.

[Surgical treatment of high-voltage electrical injuries]. / Die chirurgische Behandlung von Hochspannungsverletzungen.

PURPOSE/BACKGROUND: High-voltage burns represent a challenging surgical entity. Compared to conventional burns, these injuries are characterized by an increased morbidity and worse potential for rehabilitation. The aim of the present study was to analyse the management of high-voltage injuries during the early posttraumatic period with special emphasis on the surgical procedures. PATIENTS/MATERIAL AND METHOD: We retrospectively evaluated the medical records of patients with electrical injuries treated from 1995 - 2007. A total of 61 patients (57 men, 4 females, mean age: 34 +/- 13 years) with high-voltage burns was included for analysis. RESULTS: The majority of high-voltage burns was work-related (75 %). The mean total burn area was 35 % of the total body surface, with a mean of 29 % deep burns. An average of 4.8 +/- 4 operations were performed per patient (range: 1 - 23 operations). Surgical procedures included repeated debridement/necrectomy (100 % of all patients), early escharotomy/fasciotomy (47.5 %), and amputations (18 %). 14 patients (23 %) underwent reconstructive surgery using either local or free flaps. The mortality rate was 15 %. CONCLUSION: The surgical management of high-voltage burns is characterised by repetitive debridements and necrectomies. Despite an aggressive approach to remove necrotic tissue, the mortality in this type of injury is considerably high. Limb salvage may be achieved with the use of free microvascular flaps. However, an amputation of necrotic extremities must be considered in the copresence of septic complications.

Factors affecting mortality and epidemiological data in patients hospitalised with burns in Diyarbakir, Turkey.

BACKGROUND: Burns continue to be responsible for significant morbidity and mortality in developing countries. In this study we aimed to determine the factors affecting mortality and epidemiological data by examining the records of burned patients. METHOD: The hospital records of 980 patients who were hospitalised in the Burns Unit at Dicle University Hospital (DUH) between June 1994 and July 1999 were examined for factors affecting mortality. Factors evaluated included gender, age, burn type, degree and extent of burn, prognosis and length of hospitalisation (LH). We investigated the relationship (if any) between the demographic data, degree and extent of burns and mortality and morbidity rates. RESULTS: The study group consisted of 325 males (33.2%) and 655 females (66.8%). Of the patients 738 (75.3%) were children (age under 15 years), 217 (22.1%) were younger adults (age 15-50 years), and 25 (2.6%) were older adults (age over 50 years). The mean age was 11.2 +/- 14.01 years (range 15 days-95 years). Of the burns 618 (63.1%) were scalds, 199 (20.3%) burns from a flame and 163 (16.6%) electrical burns. The mean extent of burn was 24.3 +/- 14.5% (range 1-95%). Seven hundred and eighty-seven (80.3%) of the study group made a full recovery, 131 (13.4%) were discharged from hospital after partial recovery, and 62 (6.3%) died. The mean LH was 11.33 +/- 8.8 days (range 1-67 days). There was a positive correlation between burn extent and mortality (r = 0.35, p < 0.0001) and between age and type of burn (r = 0.60, p < 0.0001). While scalds had the highest frequency among children, flame and electrical burns were most common in the adult and older adult groups. There was also a positive correlation between degree and type of burn (r = 0.32, p = 0.0001), scalds tending to be more superficial while flame and electrical burns were generally more serious. Deaths of patients with extensive burns usually occurred in the first 5 days following injury due to acute renal failure and hypovolaemic shock, while deaths from moderate and minor burns usually occurred after 7 days and were due to wound infection and sepsis. CONCLUSION: We found positive correlations between age and type of burn, degree and type of burn, and the extent of burn and mortality. The overall mortality rate for our unit was 6.3%.

Lesiones por electricidad en pediatría / Injuries by electricity in pediatrics

Desde el comienzo de los tiempos la gente ha visto la electricidad con miedo, poco se sabía del mecanismo de daño hasta que conenzó su uso controlado hace alrededor de 150 años; desde entonces, se han podido definir sus propiedades físicas y a través de éstas conocer la fisiopatología de sus efectos en el ser humano. Las lesiones por corriente eléctrica son relativamente poco frecuentes, constituyendo entre el 3 y 8,9 por ciento de las admisiones en las unidades de quemados; las tasas de natalidad también son bajas; sin embargo, la incapacidad que generan, tanto a corto como a largo plazo constituye el principal motivo de preocupación, sumado al hecho de que con la creciente disponibilidad de artefactos eléctricos la frecuencia de este tipo de lesiones ha ido en aumento. Según diversos estudios clínicos, el 22 por ciento de los pacientes hospitalizados por quemaduras eléctricas corresponde a niños entre 0 y 18 años, y en el 73,7 por ciento de los casos el accidente se produce mientras juegan, de lo cual se desprende que la prevención es un pilar fundamental en el manejo de este tipo de lesiones en pediatría

Comprometimento pulmonar em trauma eletrico: relato de caso / Pulmonary lesion in eletric injury: case report

Trauma eletricos severos constituem cerca de 5 por cento das admissoes em Unidades de Queimados. O acometimento visceral pela corrente eletrica apresenta grande morbidade e mortalidade. A presenca de lesoes viscerais sem continuidade com lesao de partes moles e pouco referida, porem de extrema gravidade, principalmente pela dificuldade diagnostica que apresenta. Lesoes cardiacas tem sido mais frequentemente relatadas, ocorrendo em 10 a 25 por cento dos pacientes, consistinto basicamente em arritmias e disturbios de conducao, consequentes a espasmos coronarios ou lesao muscular difusa pela corrente...

[Epidemiological analysis of 9695 cases of electric burns].

9695 cases of electric burn patients admitted to 84 hospitals in 26 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions of China were analyzed. Useful epidemiological data pertaining to sex and age distribution, profession, treatment, amputation rate, survival rate, and complications etc were obtained.

Electrical burns treated in an Indian hospital.

A 17-year survey of all electrical burns admitted to the Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at the Kilpauk Medical College Hospital, Madras between 1973 and 1990 has been made. A total of 8040 cases of burns were treated in this Department and in this group 923 were pure electrical burns. The majority of electrical burns occurred in the age group 20-40 years. Some of the clinical features of our electrical burns resembled closely those of a crush injury. Most of the patients required primary reconstruction and this was delayed when the viability of tissues was in doubt. Human error was responsible for the injury in 68 per cent of patients and all the 64 patients who were below the age of 10 years belonged to this group.

Epidemiology of serious burn injuries.

The incidence of serious burn injuries has been determined for the Commonwealth of Virginia during a 21 month period. The data set included all patients with burn injuries who entered the hospital and were considered to be in serious enough condition to require treatment in a hospital. The risk for burn injury was calculated by age, race and sex. Examination of the date revealed large differences in the magnitude of age-specific incidence rates between men and women and the white and nonwhite population. Differences in the economic status of the population may explain a large proportion of the variation in the crude burn rates.

Deaths associated with laparoscopic sterilization by unipolar electrocoagulating devices, 1978 and 1979.

In 1978 and 1979, two women in the United States were reported to have died from electrical complications following sterilization with unipolar coagulating devices. Both deaths followed apparent bowel injuries occurring at the time of sterilization. Numerous reports have documented the electrical accidents associated with unipolar electrocoagulation. Because unipolar electrocoagulation has greater risk for these complications than alternative sterilization techniques, without proved greater benefits, we question the need for continuing its use in female sterilization.

PIP: Most of the laparoscopy procedures performed in the U. S. use electric current to coagulate the fallopian tubes. Most of the coagulations are done with unipolar devices, with its attendant risks of accidental burns to the patient and the operator. In the years 1978 and 1979, 2 sterilization-related deaths were recorded by the Center for Disease Control, apparently resulting form inadvertent burns to the bowel sustained during sterilization with unipolar devices. The 1st case involved a 41-year old woman, gravida 6, para 5, abortus 1 who underwent a laparoscopic tubal sterilization via electrocoagulation with a unipolar device. 23 days after the operation, she returned to the hospital complaining of abdominal pain and evidence of peritonitis. Laparotomy was performed, but her condition deteriorated. She died 41 days after the laparotomy. Autopsy revealed bowel perforation with subcutaneous abscess. The 2nd case involved a healthy 22-year old woman, gravida 4, para 4 who underwent a similar sterilization procedure. She presented to the hospital 7 days after the operation complaining of abdominal pain. Laparotomy was also performed but she died two days later of septic shock. Bowel perforation was strongly suspected, although the perforation site was never located. Bipolar coagulation may reduce the risk of electric accidents. The need for continuing the use of unipolar electrocoagulation, in the light of risk of death, is questioned.