[Epidemiological characteristics of electrical injuries of patients applied to the emergency department].
BACKGROUND
In this study, we planned to determine the factors affecting the mortality, and morbidity of electrical injuries.


METHODS
Medical records of 165 patients (126 males; 39 females; mean age 21.1 years; range 2.5 to 62 years), who were admitted to the Emergency Department of Dicle University School of Medicine for electrical injuries, between January 2003 and April 2004, were retrospectively reviewed.


RESULTS
Among these patients, 60 (36.4%) were children, under 12 years old; 95 (57.6%) were adolescents and adults, and 10 (6%) were aged. Of the victims of electrical accidents, 29 (17.6%) were illiterate and 36 (21.8 %) were educated. Ninety-seven (58.8 %) patients were either graduates or still students of elementary, secondary or high school. The cause of exposure to electricity was accident in 99 (60%), and carelessness and parents' negligence in 66 (40%). Sixty-nine (41.8%) patients were exposed to high voltage, and 96 (58.2 %) to low voltage. Because of electrical injury 16 patients had first degree, 96 patients had second degree, and 86 patients had third degree burns. The most frequent complications were contractures of extremities (10.9%) and compartment syndrome (3.6%). Mortality rate was 9.1% (n=15). Eighty percent of the deaths were due to exposure to high voltage. A positive correlation was demonstrated between mortality and complications (p<0.001). Escarotomy was performed in 10 patients, fasciotomy in 16, and amputation in 9. Two of 5 patients who had intraabdominal hemorrhage underwent surgery.


CONCLUSIONS
A serious education of the society with respect to conscious use of electricity is the most efficient method to decrease electrical accidents.
Al
Behçet
B
Department of Emergency Medicine, Medicine Faculty of Dicle University, Diyarbakir, Turkey. behcetal@hotmail.com
Aldemir
Mustafa
M
Güloğlu
Cahfer
C
Kara
Ismail Hamdi
IH
Girgin
Sadullah
S