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Citation
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Choi JH, Han D, Kang SH, Yoon CH, Cho JR, Kym D. BMJ Open 2019; 9(7): e028741. |
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Affiliation
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Department of Surgery and Critical Care, Burn Center, Hangang Sacred Heart Hospital, Hallym University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea. |
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Abstract
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OBJECTIVES: To date, no research has investigated the association between cardiac complication and electrical injury; hence, we aimed to assess the consequences and relating factors of cardiac complications from electrical injuries in South Korea.
DESIGN: Retrospective single-centre study. PARTICIPANTS: 721 patients who had electrical injury-related admission during 2007-2017. An electronic medical record system was used to extract records of patients admitted for electrical injury treatment.
RESULTS: Cardiac complications included abnormal parameters of myocardial damage, abnormal regional wall motion detected via echocardiogram, dysrhythmia (eg, bradycardia, atrial flutter/fibrillation) and ventricular tachycardia or fibrillation. Overall, 107 patients (14.8%) experienced cardiac complications. The average admission duration and intensive care unit stay duration were significantly longer in patients with cardiac complications than in those without them (75.0±45.3 vs 56.6±48.0 days and 19.3±24.1 vs 10.4±15.5 days, respectively, p<0.01 for both). Of the total cardiac cases, 72.9% had Troponin I elevation, 3.7% had regional wall motion abnormality, and 5.6% had atrial flutter/fibrillation. Overall, seven patients from the cardiac complication group and three patients from the control group died (p=0.01). All deaths occurred within 32 days, and the most common cause of death was septic shock. Total body surface area (TBSA) was only positively related factor to cardiac complications.
CONCLUSION: This study is the first in South Korea to reveal that electrical accident patients with cardiac complications experience poorer in-hospital prognosis, and TBSA was the only risk factor of cardiac complications. And initial treatment for infection and inflammations could be important in electrical injury.
© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2019. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.
Language: en |