Low- and High-Voltage Electrical Burns: 10 Years of Experience

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: Electrical burns are devastating, posing development of multiple injuries with high morbidity and mortality. Electrical burn management benefits from a multidisciplinary and multispecialty collaborative approach to improve outcomes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This prospective study, conducted from January 2010 to December 2020, included 78 patients (75 male and 3 female patients) who presented with a history of electrical burns at the Ain Shams University Hospital (Cairo, Egypt). Patients were interviewed for personal details, cause of burn, percentage of burn, electrocardiogram changes, isolated microorganisms, treatments given, complications, average length of hospital stay, and outcomes, which were analyzed using descriptive statistics. RESULTS: Among the 78 patients, most ranged in age from 21 to 40 years, with ratio of patients with high-voltage versus low-voltage injury of 4.2:1. The most common region involved was the upper limb (88.2%); 29.3% of patients had associated traumatic injuries. Significant electrocardiogram changes were noticed in 25% of patients, and culture was positive for bacterial growth in 76.2% of patients (32/42). Most patients (73.1%) underwent surgery with an average of 2.63 surgeries per patients; 26.9% of patients underwent major/minor amputations. Length of stay ranged from 14 to 28 days. Overall morbidity rate and mortality rate were 2.1% and 2.4%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Electrical burns, which are mostly shown in young adult men, can impose a significant burden in developing countries. Electrical burns, especially those due to high voltage, involve multiple organs and have significant residual sequalae, which can benefit from multidisciplinary management. Public awareness and education and proper training of industry workers remain the best way to minimize the prevalence of electrical burns in the developing world.