Handbook of Clinical Neurology, Vol. 120 (3rd series) Neurologic Aspects of Systemic Disease Part II Jose Biller and Jose M. Ferro, Editors © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved
Chapter 65
Lightning and thermal injuries ARTHUR SANFORD AND RICHARD L. GAMELLI* Department of Surgery, Loyola University Medical Center, Maywood, IL, USA
HISTORY (INCLUDING TERMINOLOGY) Electrical injuries have become a more common problem in a society where we have come to depend on electricity for our everyday lives. Over 2 million burn injuries occur each year in the US; fortunately only 3% of these injuries are due to electricity or lightning. Most devastating are the electrical injuries from workplace accidents, because the victims are usually young, productive people with resulting significant functional losses. Areas of social disparity and “pirating” of electricity can cause even more unsafe conditions as amateurs try to steal electricity. “Electrocution” is commonly used, incorrectly, to describe all electrical injuries. It actually means the stopping of life (determined by a stopped heart) by any type of electric shock. The term used throughout this chapter, “electrical injuries,” describes both fatal and nonfatal consequences of conduction of electricity. Electrical burns are classified as either high voltage (1000 volts and higher) or low voltage (
Chapter 65
Lightning and thermal injuries ARTHUR SANFORD AND RICHARD L. GAMELLI* Department of Surgery, Loyola University Medical Center, Maywood, IL, USA
HISTORY (INCLUDING TERMINOLOGY) Electrical injuries have become a more common problem in a society where we have come to depend on electricity for our everyday lives. Over 2 million burn injuries occur each year in the US; fortunately only 3% of these injuries are due to electricity or lightning. Most devastating are the electrical injuries from workplace accidents, because the victims are usually young, productive people with resulting significant functional losses. Areas of social disparity and “pirating” of electricity can cause even more unsafe conditions as amateurs try to steal electricity. “Electrocution” is commonly used, incorrectly, to describe all electrical injuries. It actually means the stopping of life (determined by a stopped heart) by any type of electric shock. The term used throughout this chapter, “electrical injuries,” describes both fatal and nonfatal consequences of conduction of electricity. Electrical burns are classified as either high voltage (1000 volts and higher) or low voltage (
