Frequency and Outcome of Spontaneous Hemorrhage in Electrical Burn Injuries at Burns Centre, Karachi

Authors

  • Ehmer Al-Ibran Departement of Burns, Civil Hopital Karachi, Dow University of Health Sciences. Karachi, Pakistan
  • Masood Hussain Rao Research Department2 , Dow University of Health Sciences Karachi, Pakistan.
  • Kanwal Fatima Undergraduate MBBS student, Dow Medical College , Dow University of Health Sciences Karachi, Pakistan.
  • Saboohi Irfan Undergraduate MBBS student, Dow Medical College , Dow University of Health Sciences Karachi, Pakistan.

Keywords:

Spontaneous hemorrhage, electric burns, amputation

Abstract

Objective:

To determine the frequency of spontaneous hemorrhage and its effect on mortality rate among electric burn injury patients.

Materials and Methods:

It is a retrospective review of the consecutive patients with electric injuries who were managed at Burn Centre, Karachi over a 4 year period spanning from January 2008- December 2011. Data were extracted regarding age of patient; site involved in electric burn, artery involved in spontaneous hemorrhage, surgical intervention, recurrence of hemorrhage and associated mortality.

Results:

Electric burn constituted 1.42% of admissions in our burn Centre (n=208). Frequency of spontaneous hemorrhage was found in 25% (n=52) of cases. Frequent site of injury involved in spontaneous hemorrhage was upper limbs (44.25%), followed by lower limbs and anterior trunk. Most common vessel involved in spontaneous hemorrhage was axillary artery (19.23%, n=10) followed by radial artery (11.53%, n=6) and popliteal artery (11.53%, n=6). Surgical procedures carried out were primary ligation and amputation. Bleeding recurred in 23.07% of cases. Total mortality in electric burns cases was 13.46 % (n=28/208), however out of these 28 cases, mortality rate due to spontaneous hemorrhage was 32.14% (n=9/28).

Conclusion:

Prompt and timely institution of appropriate surgical interventions among electric burn injury patients has the potential to reduce the frequency of life-threatening episodes of spontaneous hemorrhage and improve the outcome in terms of morbidity and survival.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Lee RC. Injury by electrical forces: pathophysiology, manifestations and management. Curr Prob Surg 1997;34:684.

Babík J, Sandor, Sopko. Electrical burn injuries. Ann Burns Fire Disasters 1998; 11:153-5.

Opara KO, Chukwuanukwu TO, Ogbonnaya IS, Nwadinigwe CU. Pattern of severe electrical injuries in a Nigerian regional burn centre. Niger J Clin Pract 2006; 9:124-7.

Pappano D. Radius Fracture from an electrical injury involving an electric guitar. South Med J 2010; 103:242-4.

Kalayi GD. Burns injury: clinical features and management. Niger J Surg Res 2002; 4:122-8.

Herrera FA, Hassanein AH, Potenza B, Dobke M, Angle N. Bilateral upper extremity vascular injury as a result of a high-voltage 7. electrical burn. Ann Vasc Surg 2010; 24:825-5.

Wang XW, Zoh WH. Vascular injuries in electrical burns the pathologic basis for mechanism of injury. Burns Incl Therm Inj 1983; 9:335-

Subrahmanyam M. Electrical burn injuries. Ann Burns Fire Disasters 2004; 17:9-11.

Liu HY, Zhang MQ, Wang RX, Yang GX, Sun YD, Liu QO. Experiences in the treatment of electrical burns covering deep wounds with various tissue flaps. Acta Chir Plast 1989; 31:209-25.

Tredget EE, Shankowsky HA, Tilley WA. Electrical injuries in a Canadian burn care. Ann NY Acad Sci 1999; 888:75-87.

Xiao J, Cai BR. A clinical study of electrical injuries. Burns 1994; 20:340-6.

Hanumadass ML, Voora SB, Kagan RJ, Matsuda T. Acute electrical burns: a 10-year clinical experience. Burns 1986; 12:427-31.

Butler, ED, GantTD. Electrical injuries, with special reference to the upper extremities, a review of 182 cases. Am J Surg 1977; 134:95-101.

Patil SB, Khare NA, Jaiswal S, Jain A, Chitranshi A, Math M. Changing patterns in electrical burn injuries in a developing country: should prevention programs focus on the rural population? J Burn Care Res 2010; 31:931-4.

Parshely PF, Kilgore J, Pulito JF, Smiley PW, Millen SH. Aggressive approach to the extremity damaged by electricburns. Am J Surg 1985; 150:78-82.

Janjua SA. High voltage electrical injuries. J Coll Physicians Surg Pak 2002; 12:140-2.

Shuiping L, Yangeng Y, Quanyoug H, Luo B, Liao X. Electrocution-related mortality: a review of 71 deaths by low-voltage electrical current in Guangdong, China, 2001-2010, Am J Forens Med Pathol 2014; 35:193-6.

Schaefer NR, Yaxley JP, O’Donohue P, Lisec CJ, Shanker E. Electrical burn causing a unique pattern of neurological injury. Plast Reconstr Surg Glob Open 2015; 3:378.

Roberts S, James NY, Meltzer A, An evidence-based approach to electrical injuries in children pediatric emergency medicine practice 2013; 10:234-7.

Gajbhive AS, Meshram MM, Gajarawar RS, Kathod AP. The management of electrical burn. Ind J Surg 2013; 75:278-83

Downloads

Published

2016-05-01

How to Cite

Al-Ibran, E., Hussain Rao, M. ., Kanwal Fatima, & Irfan, S. . (2016). Frequency and Outcome of Spontaneous Hemorrhage in Electrical Burn Injuries at Burns Centre, Karachi. Journal of the Dow University of Health Sciences (JDUHS), 10(1), 31–34. Retrieved from https://jduhs.jduhs.duhs.edu.pk/index.php/jduhs/article/view/1408

Issue

Vol. 10 No. 1

Section

Original Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2021 Ehmer Al-Ibran, Masood Hussain Rao, Kanwal Fatima, Saboohi Irfan

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

Articles published in the Journal of Dow University of Health Sciences are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License https://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by-nc/4.0/. This license permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium; provided the original work is properly cited and initial publication in this journal.