The management and clinical outcomes of electrothermal burn injury patients over a ten-year period
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15584/ejcem.2025.1.14Keywords:
biochemical blood test, dermoplasty, electrocardiography, electrothermal burn, treatmentAbstract
Introduction and aim. This study investigates electrothermal burns in children, including their incidence, causes, associated systemic changes, and treatments. Electrothermal burns are unique and can be caused by factors such as moisture, leading to heat conduction from the contact site. The study aims to determine the frequency of these burns in children, identify their causes, and evaluate various treatment methods. The outcomes of interest include wound healing, scarring, and long-term complications. The results of this study will help develop better treatment strategies and reduce the incidence of such injuries.
Material and methods. The Grodno Regional Children’s Clinical Hospital, Belarus treated 666 children for burn injuries between 2014 and 2023, 35 of them diagnosed with electrothermal skin burns.
Results. According to our analysis, electrothermal burns make up approximately 5.3% of all burn injuries. Upon reviewing hos pitalization records, it was observed that the number of hospital visits related to this type of injury ranged from 3 to 5 annually, except for 2022, when there were nine recorded cases.
Conclusion. Our study shows that electrothermal burns are usually caused by household appliances. There is a gender imbal ance in those affected. Early detection and appropriate medical intervention are crucial in the management of these burns.
Downloads
References
Artz CP. Changing concepts of electrical injury. Am J Surg. 1974;128(5):600-602. doi: 10.1016/S0002-9610(74)80008-5
Waldmann V, Narayanan K, Combes N, Jost D, Jouven X, Marijon E. Electrical cardiac injuries: Current concepts and management. Eur Heart J. 2018;39(16):1459-1465. doi: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehx142
Buja Z, Arifi H, Hoxha E. Electrical burn injuries. An eight-year review. Ann Burns Fire Disasters. 2010;23(1):4-7.
Ten Duis HJ. Acute electrical burns. Semin Neurol. 1995;15(4):381-386. doi: 10.1055/s-2008-1041048
Fracasso T, Pfeiffer H, Pellerin P, Karger B. The morphology of cutaneous burn injuries and the type of heat application. Forensic Sci Int. 2009;187(1-3):81-86. doi: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2009.03.002
Kobernick M. Electrical injuries: Pathophysiology and emergency management. Ann Emerg Med. 1982; 11(11):633-638. doi: 10.1016/S0196-0644(82)80211-4
Spies C, Trohman RG. Correction: Narrative review: Electrocution and life-threatening electrical injuries. Ann Intern Med. 2006;145(12):936. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-145-12-200612190-00019
Gemme S, Jay G, Binder W. An Electrical Burn. R I Med J (2013). 2015;98(7):42-44.
Fox CJ, Cornett EM, Ghali GE. Catastrophic perioperative complications and management: A comprehensive textbook. Catastrophic Perioper Complicat Manag A Compr Textb. 2019:1-418. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-96125-5
Schneider JC, Qu HD. Neurologic and Musculoskeletal Complications of Burn Injuries. Phys Med Rehabil Clin N Am. 2011;22(2):261-275. doi: 10.1016/j.pmr.2011.01.003
Fish R. Electric shock, part II: nature and mechanisms of injury. J Emerg Med. 1993;11(4):457-462. doi: 10.1016/0736-4679(93)90250-B
Teodoreanu R, Popescu SA, Lascar I. Electrical injuries. Biological values measurements as a prediction factor of local evolution in electrocutions lesions. J Med Life. 2014;7(2):226-236.
Zhirkova EA, Spiridonova TG, Sachkov AV, Svetlov KV. Electrical injury (a literature review). Russ Sklifosovsky J Emerg Med Care. 2020;8(4):443-450. doi: 10.23934/2223-9022-2019-8-4-443-450
Mann FA. Electrical and Lightning Injuries. Small Anim Crit Care Med. 2008;15(2):687-690. doi: 10.1016/B978-1-4160-2591-7.10159-6
Xhepa G, Isaraj S, Zikaj G, Kola N. Electrical Burns in Albania and their Treatment: A Review of Cases Treated in 2019-2020. Open Access Maced J Med Sci. 2023;11(B):620-626. doi: 10.3889/oamjms.2023.11634
Nisar S, Keyloun JW, Kolachana S, et al. Institutional Experience Using a Treatment Algorithm for Electrical Injury. J Burn Care Res. 2021;42(3):351-356. doi: 10.1093/jbcr/irab020
Icer M, Zengin Y. Clinical Effects of Voltage Difference and The Factors Affecting Mortality in Electrical Injuries. International Archives of Medical Research. 2016;8(1).
Bittner EA, Shank E, Woodson L, Martyn JAJ. Acute and perioperative care of the burn-injured patient. Anesthesiology. 2015;122(2):448-464. doi: 10.1097/ALN.0000000000000559
Ünlü E, Ökdem FŞ, Türkmen N, Günay A, Aydoğan C. Nursing Care of a Patient After Burn According to Orem’s Self-Care Theory: A Case Report. Burn Care Prev. 2021;1(4):187-190.
Taran A. Treatment approaches of electrical injuries. Mold Med J. 2021;64(5):38-41. doi: 10.52418/moldovan-med-j.64-5.21.07
Biggs TM. Adipose compartments of the upper eyelid: anatomy applied to blepharoplasty. Plast Reconstr Surg. 2004;114(6):1653-1654. doi: 10.1097/01.prs.0000141485.83476.89
Wu MP, Ou CS, Chen SL, Yen EYT, Rowbotham R. Complications and recommended practices for electrosurgery in laparoscopy. Am J Surg. 2000;179(1):67-73. doi: 10.1016/S0002-9610(99)00267-6
Lowry MA, Mellen PF. Low-voltage electrothermal neck injury Extensor tendon and ulnar styloid entrapment in Smith’s fracture. 1984:2-3.
Choi JH, Han D, Kang SH, Yoon CH, Cho JR, Kym D. Retrospective study of prognosis and relating factors of cardiac complications associated with electrical injuries at a single centre in Korea. BMJ Open. 2019;9(7):1-7. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2018-028741
Tan MJ. Electrical Injuries: Cardiovascular Implication and Management. Int J Sci Adv. 2023;4(1):76-81. doi: 10.51542/ijscia.v4i1.15
De Macedo JLS, Rosa SC, Castro C. Sepsis in burned patients. Rev Soc Bras Med Trop. 2003;36(6):647-652. doi: 10.1590/s0037-86822003000600001
Gokdemir MT, Kaya H, Söǧüt Ö, Cevik M. Factors affecting the clinical outcome of low-voltage electrical injuries in children. Pediatr Emerg Care. 2013;29(3):357-359. doi: 10.1097/PEC.0b013e3182854445
Dechent D, Emonds T, Stunder D, Schmiedchen K, Kraus T, Driessen S. Direct current electrical injuries: A systematic review of case reports and case series. Burns. 2020;46(2):267-278. doi: 10.1016/j.burns.2018.11.020
Zikaj G, Xhepa G, Belba G, Kola N, Isaraj S. Electrical burns and their treatment in a tertiary hospital in Albania. Open Access Maced J Med Sci. 2018;6(5):835-838. doi: 10.3889/oamjms.2018.206
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 European Journal of Clinical and Experimental Medicine
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Our open access policy is in accordance with the Budapest Open Access Initiative (BOAI) definition: this means that articles have free availability on the public Internet, permitting any users to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of these articles, crawl them for indexing, pass them as data to software, or use them for any other lawful purpose, without financial, legal, or technical barriers other than those inseparable from having access to the Internet itself.
All articles are published with free open access under the CC-BY Creative Commons attribution license (the current version is CC-BY, version 4.0). If you submit your paper for publication by the Eur J Clin Exp Med, you agree to have the CC-BY license applied to your work. Under this Open Access license, you, as the author, agree that anyone may download and read the paper for free. In addition, the article may be reused and quoted provided that the original published version is cited. This facilitates freedom in re-use and also ensures that Eur J Clin Exp Med content can be mined without barriers for the research needs.
