Pattern of electrical injury in children and adolescents

Background and Aim : Electrical injury is one of the most serious and devastating types of injury all around the world. It is unfortunately common in children and adolescents in this country. The aim of this study is to investigate the pattern of electrical injury in children and adolescents Methods : This is a cross-sectional study on patients hospitalized because of the electrical injury in years 2012-2016 in Imam Reza Hospital located in Mashhad, the north-east of Iran. All electrical injuries in children and adolescents were extracted from Hospital Information System and analyzed by SPSS version 24. Results : sixty nine out of 258 electrical injuries (26.7%) occurred in children and adolescents less than 18 years old. About one half (33, 47.8%) of them occurred in children less than 7 years old. In this age group, all of electrical injuries caused by low voltage electrical current and 72.7% of them occurred at home. About one-third of injuries (24, 34.8%) occurred in 7-12 years age group; only 12.5% of injuries were high voltage and 62.5% of them occurred at home. Twelve electrical injuries occurred in 13-18 years group; 50% of them were high voltage and only 8.3% of them occurred at home. There was 12 work related electrical injuries, all of them in children and adolescent older than 12. There were 10 amputations and 2 deaths (2.9%). Conclusion : More than one quarter of electrical injuries occurred in children and adolescents; and they are at a noticeable risk for electrical injury especially at home. More attention to electrical isolation of home appliances and intact wiring may reduce the risk of electrical injuries in this age category.

کلیدواژه ها:

Electrical injury ، children ، adolescent ، amputation