Electrical injury
An electrical injury, (electric injury) or electrical shock (electric shock) is damage sustained to the skin or internal organs on direct contact with an electric current.
| Electrical injury | |
|---|---|
| Other names | Electrical shock |
| Lightning injury caused by a nearby lightning strike. The slight branching redness (sometimes called a Lichtenberg figure) travelling up the leg was caused by the effects of current. | |
| Specialty | Emergency medicine |
| Complications | Burns, rhabdomyolysis, cardiac arrest, bone fractures |
| Frequency | >30,000 per year (USA) |
| Deaths | ~1,000 per year (USA) |
The injury depends on the density of the current, tissue resistance and duration of contact. Very small currents may be imperceptible or only produce a light tingling sensation. However, a shock caused by low and otherwise harmless current could startle an individual and cause injury due to jerking away or falling. A strong electric shock can often cause painful muscle spasms severe enough to dislocate joints or even to break bones. The loss of muscle control is the reason that a person may be unable to release themselves from the electrical source; if this happens at a height as on a power line they can be thrown off. Larger currents can result in tissue damage and may trigger ventricular fibrillation or cardiac arrest. If death results from an electric shock the cause of death is generally referred to as electrocution.
Electric injury occurs upon contact of a body part with electricity that causes a sufficient current to pass through the person's tissues. Contact with energized wiring or devices is the most common cause. In cases of exposure to high voltages, such as on a power transmission tower, direct contact may not be necessary as the voltage may "jump" the air gap to the electrical device.
Following an electrical injury from household current, if a person has no symptoms, no underlying heart problems, and is not pregnant further testing is not required. Otherwise an electrocardiogram, blood work to check the heart, and urine testing for signs of muscle breakdown may be performed.
Management may involve resuscitation, pain medications, wound management, and heart rhythm monitoring. Electrical injuries affect more than 30,000 people a year in the United States and result in about 1,000 deaths.