Electrical Hazards
- Mortality -- Incidence of death
- Morbidity -- New cases where death is not an outcome, nonfatal injury
- Years of Life Lost -- Subtract age of death from life expectancy
- Deaths due to trauma in the United States
- All external causes of mortality
- Motor-Vehicle Crashes
- Pedestrian
- Motorcycle
- Falls
- Mechanical forces (struck by object, machinery)
- Drowning
- Electrical current
- Intentional self harm
- Assaults (firearms)
- Burns
- Electrical
- Pathophysiology
- Ohm’s Law – role of voltage and resistance
- Joule’s Law – relationship between heat production, current and resistance.
- Body tissues vary in type of resistance to current
- Electrical current follows path of least resistance
- Severity influenced by
- type of voltage of circuit
- amperage of current
- resistance of the body
- pathway of the current
- duration of the current
- Types of injury
- thermal due to burning of clothing, etc
- arc-type – causes high skin temperature leading to burns
- electrical injury – as it travels through body it heats up causing tissue necrosis with entrance and exit wounds
- Special assessment finding
- Review previous knowledge
- Cardiac arrest
- Neuromuscular injuries
- peripheral nerve deficit
- muscle coordination and strength
- Spinal cord involvement/injury
- Special management considerations
- SCENE SAFETY
- Cardiac arrest management
- Cervical spine protection
- IV fluids if hypotension is present
- Transport to appropriate facility
- Pathophysiology
- Electrical
- Electrical injury – Lightening strikes
- Pathophysiology
- Pathophysiology similar to electrical burns
- MOI
- Direct strike
- Side flash “splash”
- Ground current or step voltage
- Blunt trauma
- Contact
- Major problem is cardiorespiratory arrest (massive DC countershock)
- May cause head trauma, cardiac damage, burns, extremity vasospasm, paresis or parethesias.
- Special Assessment considerations
- Scene safety
- Assess for cardiac arrest
- Special management considerations
- AVO
- Cardiac arrest management
- Burn wound care
- Transport
- Pathophysiology
Content Creator: Carli Wymore
CAPCE Course Number: 20-EMTP-F3-2303
NJ Course Number: 141153
Total CE Hours: 1
Level: Basic
EMT-CE uses the NEMSES guidelines as the foundation for every course outline.