Emergent diagnosis and management of TASER penetrating ocular injury

Jey, Arthur; Hull, Peter; Kravchuk, Victoria; Carillo, Briana; Martel, Jaemes Benjamin

doi:10.1016/j.ajem.2016.01.005

Cited by 10 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…31 In fact, TASER barbs are often left in place until arrival to EDs, with some cases requiring surgical removal of barbs in the operating room. 3,8,9,13,17,18 Standard operating procedures of different law enforcement agencies may have also affected this prevalence rate; some law enforcement agencies "provide officers with the discretion to remove TASER barbs themselves" without activating EMS or to request an EMS response for medical assessment. 2 Other agencies require officers to transport all affected individuals to a hospital for TASER barb removal.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There are several published case reports from emergency department (ED) and in-hospital settings regarding different types of injuries associated with TASER use. These include: ocular injuries, 8 – 11 skin and bone injuries, 12 , 13 testicular injuries, 14 pharyngeal perforation, 15 pneumothorax, 16 neurological injuries ranging from intracranial probe penetration 17 , 18 to acute agitated delirious state, 19 and stroke 20 . Additionally, cardiac injuries and dysthymias have been reported, including implantable cardioverter defibrillator oversensing, 21 atrial fibrillation, 22 myocardial infarction, 23 and ventricular fibrillation or asystole 24 …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Emergency Medical Services Experience With Barb Removal After Taser Use By Law Enforcement: A Descriptive National Study

Sayed

Tawil

Tamim

et al. 2018

Prehosp. Disaster med.

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BackgroundConducted electrical weapons (CEWs), including Thomas A. Swift Electric Rifles (TASERs), are increasingly used by law enforcement officers (LEOs) in the US and world-wide. Little is known about the experience of Emergency Medical Service (EMS) providers with these incidents.ObjectivesThis study describes EMS encounters with documented TASER use and barb removal, characteristics of resulting injuries, and treatment provided.MethodsThis retrospective study used five combined, consecutive National Emergency Medical Services Information System (NEMSIS; Salt Lake City, Utah USA) public-release datasets (2011-2015). All EMS activations with documented TASER barb removal were included. Descriptive analyses were carried out.ResultsThe study included 648 EMS activations with documented TASER barb removal, yielding a prevalence rate of 4.55 per 1,000,000 EMS activations. Patients had a mean age of 35.9 years (SD=18.2). The majority were males (80.2%) and mainly white (71.3%). Included EMS activations were mostly in urban or suburban areas (78.3%). Over one-half received Advanced Life Support (ALS)-level of service (58.2%). The most common chief complaint reported by dispatch were burns (29.9%), followed by traumatic injury (16.1%). Patients had pain (45.6%) or wound (17.2%) as a primary symptom, with most having possible injury (77.8%). Reported causes of injury were mainly fire and flames (29.8%) or excessive heat (16.7%). The provider’s primary impressions were traumatic injury (66.3%) and behavioral/psychiatric disorder (16.8%). Only one cardiac arrest (0.2%) was reported. Over one-half of activations resulted in patient transports (56.3%), mainly to a hospital (91.2%). These encounters required routine EMS care (procedures and medications). An increase in the prevalence of EMS activations with documented TASER barb removal over the study period was not significant (P=.27).ConclusionAt present, EMS activations with documented TASER barb removal are rare. Routine care by EMS is expected, and life-threatening emergencies are not common. All EMS providers should be familiar with local policies and procedures related to TASER use and barb removal.El SayedM, El TawilC, TamimH, MailhacA, MannNC. Emergency Medical Services experience with barb removal after TASER use by law enforcement: a descriptive national study. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2019;34(1):38–45.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Emergency Medical Services Experience With Barb Removal After Taser Use By Law Enforcement: A Descriptive National Study

Sayed

Tawil

Tamim

et al. 2018

Prehosp. Disaster med.

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“…Injury to the eyes and surrounding area is among the most frequently reported injuries caused by penetration by darts and barbs. Out of 15 such cases reported, at least three resulted in removal of the eye or parts of the eye (enucleation or evisceration) due to irreversible damage with loss of vision, and in others there was a substantial reduction of vision (Chen et al, 2006;de Runz et al, 2014;Gapsis et al, 2017;Han et al, 2009;Jey et al, 2016;Li & Hamill, 2013;Moysidis et al, 2019;Ng & Chehade, 2005;Rafailov et al, 2017;Sharabura et al, 2021;Teymoorian et al, 2010). In one lucky incident, the eye hit was the one where a person already had an implant, whereas the only seeing eye was spared (Moysidis et al, 2019).…”

Section: Eyes and Surroundingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Penetration: Darts lodged in eye and surroundings, some with loss of vision. Chen et al, 2006;de Runz et al, 2014;Gapsis et al, 2017;Han et al, 2009;Jey et al, 2016;Li & Hamill, 2013;Moysidis et al, 2019;Ng & Chehade, 2005;Rafailov et al, 2017;Sharabura et al, 2021;Teymoorian et al, 2010.…”

Section: Eyesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Health impact of electric discharge weapons: a review of case studies

Brasholt,

Aon,

Michaelsen

et al. 2024

torture

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Introduction Electrical discharge weapons (EDWs) are increasingly used by law enforcement around the globe as a less lethal option to firearms. Concerns have been raised about their use, inter alia from the UN Committee Against Torture (UNCAT). The purpose of this manuscript is to provide an overview of case studies to assess the health consequences of EDW exposure. Methods Medline and Pubmed were searched for case studies on EDWs without restriction on language or date. Screening was first at abstract level and then at full article level. Articles were excluded if they were not case studies, concerned children under 15 years old or were off topic. A PRISMA flow diagram was created. Results A total of 71 studies were included, and they demonstrate a wide range of health consequences from minor injuries to lethal conditions. The injuries can be classified as direct and indirect, i.e., related to the use itself (e.g., penetration by darts) and related to falls and burns following neuromuscular incapacitation and ignition of flammable fluids. Cardiac incidents – some being fatal - were the health consequences found most reported, but the relation to the EDW is contested. In other cases, a very plausible association is established between EDW exposure and the health consequences. Description of pain and mental suffering related to EDW exposure was lacking in the reviewed case studies. Discussion EDWs may lead to physical and most likely mental suffering. When assessing patients and when documenting cases where persons may have been exposed to EDWs, including torture and ill-treatment cases, it is important to be aware of the different types of health consequences.

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“…Besides the obvious, namely, serious or fatal fall injuries of subjects briefly incapacitated by the CEW charge, 17,18 there is the danger of ignition of highly combustible or explosive fumes by CEW 19,20 and of penetrating ocular injuries. [21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29] These ocular injuries often result in permanent loss of sight due to persisting eye damage or the necessity of enucleation. Kunz et al examined the piercing capacity of the TASER eXtended Range Projectile on ballistic soap and noted penetration depths of up to 4.2 cm.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Penetration Depths of Conducted Electrical Weapon Probes Into Human Skull Phantoms

Bolliger

Gort

Kaelin³

et al. 2019

Am J Forensic Med Pathol

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Occasional case reports have described isolated cases of conducted electrical weapon (CEW) probes piercing the human skull. In an experimental setting, we examined whether these cases were just unfortunate incidents, how deeply such probes can pierce the skull, and whether firing distance and CEW probe type play a role in the skull-piercing capability.We fired 5 different CEW cartridges (XP 10.6 m, XP 7.6 m, smart 10.6 m, smart 7.6 m, and smart probe 7.6 m) from 4 different distances (0.5, 1, 2, and 4 m) at head phantoms made of either 5-or 7-mm-thick polyurethane spheres covered with a thin layer of gelatine and buckskin. The piercing depths were recorded by computed tomographic scanning.All tested cartridges managed to pierce the head phantoms. Piercing depths of up to 6.6 mm in the 5-mm heads and depths of almost 5 mm in the 7-mm heads were recorded. Deepest piercing depths were attained with firing distances of 2 m or less.Our results showed that all tested CEW probes are capable of piercing the skull and that shorter firing distances tend to lead to deeper piercing depths.

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Emergent diagnosis and management of TASER penetrating ocular injury

Cited by 10 publications

References 14 publications

Emergency Medical Services Experience With Barb Removal After Taser Use By Law Enforcement: A Descriptive National Study

Emergency Medical Services Experience With Barb Removal After Taser Use By Law Enforcement: A Descriptive National Study

Health impact of electric discharge weapons: a review of case studies

Penetration Depths of Conducted Electrical Weapon Probes Into Human Skull Phantoms

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