Thus, body parts exposed to the same intensity and duration of current may show different degrees of heat-generated tissue injury. The body is composed of different tissues, which express a different resistance to the flow of electrical current. When electricity enters an extremity, it flows readily through all of the tissues, generating more heat in some and more coagulative damage and desiccation in others. Resistance is a measure of the difficulty of electron flow through a given substance.There is a direct relationship between current and heat generated in the material through which current flows given a constant resistance. Amperage is a measure of the rate of flow of electrons.High voltage tends to produce greater tissue destruction. Injuries are divided into low (1000 V) voltage. Voltage is a measurement of the electrical “pressure” in a system.These terms are still used in the literature, and we will briefly consider them. The old teaching on electrical injuries involves consideration of voltage, amperage, tissue resistance, duration, current type, and pathway. In developing countries, there are large numbers of deaths in the home, both because families tend to consider household current to be “safe” and because there is little prehospital care available. Adolescents often use the outdoors fearlessly as a proving ground, incurring injuries from climbing utility poles and trees and trespassing into transformer substations, resulting in high-voltage injuries.
Children at most risk are exploring toddlers (12–30 months), who suck on extension cords or stick things into electrical outlets, and adventuresome adolescents. They may result in massive tissue destruction, changes in growth patterns, and neurologic injury, including chronic pain syndromes and permanent cognitive deficits, affecting the child’s ability to learn and become a productive adult. Electrical injuries are not common but can be frightening, devastating, and life changing.
0 kommentar(er)
