Eleven-year-old male with high-voltage electrical injury and premature ventricular contractions.
We present a case of a boy with potential high-voltage electrical injury. The patient sustained electrical injuries after his kite became entangled in a high-power electrical line. He presented to the emergency department with minor external electrical burns and frequent premature ventricular contractions (PVCs). The patient's clinical course is outlined. A discussion of the epidemiology of high-voltage electrical injury in children and the clinical management of electrical-injury-induced cardiac complications is provided. Although cardiac abnormalities are found in a significant proportion of high-voltage electrical injuries, the vast majority are evident within 12 h, resolve spontaneously within a few days, and cause little or no long-term sequelae. A small proportion of normal children have clinically benign PVCs.
Kyriacou
D N
DN
Department of Emergency Medicine, Olive View--UCLA Medical Center, Sylmar 91342, USA.
Zigman
A
A
Sapien
R
R
Stanitsas
A
A
D002648:Child; D004556:Electric Injuries / Q000150:complications*; D004562:Electrocardiography; D004630:Emergencies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D018879:Ventricular Premature Complexes / Q000209:etiology*