title: Electrical injuries: a 30-year review.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Electrical injuries currently remain a world-wide problem. This study determines whether electrical injuries at our institution have changed in the past 30 years, and identifies electrical burn complications and any high-risk groups.
  
  
  METHODS
  From 1967 to 1997, 185 children admitted to our institute were identified with electrical burns. Fifty-five percent of these electrical burns occurred from 1987 to 1997.
  
  
  RESULTS
  During the last 10 years of this study, 43% of the electrical injuries (n = 44) were from low voltage (120-240 V) and 57% (n = 58) from high voltage (>1,000 V). In 17 children, serious low-voltage burns were identified as oral commissure burns. These were treated conservatively with one to two reconstructive procedures within 2 years. High-voltage injuries were mainly identified in male children (age 11 to 18 years). Thirty-three percent of high-voltage burns required amputation, 29% had deep muscle involvement, and 24% required either escharotomy or fasciotomy. No mortalities were reported.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although the incidence of low-voltage burns is currently on a steady decline, high-voltage injuries remain a problem, particularly in adolescent males.
authors.affiliation: Shriners Hospital for Children and Department of Surgery, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston 77550, USA.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rai
authors.forename: M G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Jeschke
authors.forename: R E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Barrow
authors.forename: D N
authors.initials: DN
authors.lastname: Herndon
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002058:Burns, Electric / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D013781:Texas / Q000453:epidemiology