ABSTRACT

Aim:

Electrical injuries are an important health problem in Turkey, as well as around the world. While nationwide data on these injuries are not available, in this study, we share our clinical experiences with these patients.

Material and method:

Charts were reviewed of patients presenting to the region’s university hospital emergency department between July 2000 and October 2003 who had a primary complaint of electrical injury. Data were extracted, recorded onto research forms, and evaluated.

Results:

During the research period, 34 electrical injury patients were seen in the emergency department. Most (91%) were male, and 17 of the patients (50%) were injured by high voltage current. While no visible wound could be found on one patient (3%), wounded body areas were as follows in the other patients: head in four (12%), trunk and back in four (12%), arm in six (18%), both arms in eight (24%), leg in five (15%), abdominal wall in two (6%), perineum in one (3%) and arm and leg in one patient (3%).

Conclusion:

Electrical injuries are an important problem in emergency departments. Currently insufficient data are collected about electricity injuries. More comprehensive studies should be performed in different geographic areas as well.