Search

Background: Patients exposed to electricity are often referred to the Emergency Department, but guidelines differ as to how they should be managed. In this article, we describe patients with low-voltage electric shock in the Emergency Department at St Olav's Hospital, Trondheim University Hospital., Material and Method: Retrospective data from patients referred to the Emergency Department following low-voltage electric shock (< 1,000 V) in the period 1.1.2012-31.12.2017 (N = 210) were included., Results: The median age was 26 years and 186/210 (89 %) were men. Out of the 210 patients, 165 (79 %) had symptoms following electric shock. Localised pain and chest discomfort occurred in 84/165 (51 %) and 57/165 (35 %) of patients respectively. ECG findings were normal in 168/209 (80 %), and no patients had arrhythmias requiring treatment or elevated troponin T or creatine kinase. No patients had serious complications or died., Interpretation: Low-voltage electric shock did not cause serious arrhythmias or elevated levels of troponin T or creatine kinase. It should be possible to manage asymptomatic patients with normal findings on clinical examination and ECG in a prehospital setting without reducing patient safety.

Background: The Norwegian Directorate for Fire and Electrical Safety receives an annual total of 50 reports of injuries caused by electricity, while the Labour Inspection Authority receives 150 reports. The underreporting is, however, considerable. In this article we estimate the Incidence of occupational electrical accidents and describe the legislation regulating the reporting of injuries from electrical accidents., Material and Methods: 326 of 343 electricians (95 %) returned a questionnaire on electrical accidents., Results and Interpretation: We received reports that indicated an incidence of 7.6 serious accidents per 100 person-years, which equal more than 3000 electrical accidents annually in Norway. Underreporting complicates accident prevention. Doctors should more often report occupational accidents than what is common today.

Background: Electrical accidents are potentially fatal incidents with effect on the cardiovascular, nerve and musculoskeletal systems and on the skin (burns). The electrical engineering industry points out that the follow-up of injured persons from site of accident to hospital is quite random. This paper gives a review of the current literature and proposes guidelines for the follow-up of victims of electrical accidents., Material and Method: A search of the literature was conducted on Medline, Embase, Biosis, Healthline, the Cochrane Library, the ISI citation databases, and on several other search engines. The revised guidelines were developed in consultation with 23 medical and industry institutions., Results and Interpretation: Serious acute effects of electrical accidents include cardiac arrest, respiration failure, burns (also (internal burns) with necrosis of e.g. muscle tissue), injuries to the nerve system, and renal failure. Traumas caused by falls are also frequent. Possible chronic effects are mostly seen in the nerve system as encephalopathy and psychological sequelae or as spinal cord and peripheral nerve injury. Most importantly, long latent periods are possible for some chronic nerve injuries. This paper suggest guidelines for acute (on the spot) action and criteria for referral to hospital, observation in hospital and further follow-up.

This article describes the symptomatology of three patients following electrical accidents. The flow of the current was from hand to hand, voltage was 220/380 V, and duration was at least a few seconds for all patients. The development of symptoms was the same, and may be explained as a thermal effect of electricity on the tissue. Initially the patients experienced transient confusion, followed by stiff muscles after 1 to 3 days, and then pain in the muscle attachments and joints close to path of the current. This pain increased slowly during the first two weeks. Recovery was gradual, but often incomplete. The case notes showed that electrical accidents may be followed by chronic rotator cuff tendinitis. The clinical examination also revealed a hearing loss at about 2,000 Hz and above 4,000 Hz. The neuropsychological testing indicated a diffuse impaired function in only one patient.