Epidemiology of Occupational Electrical Injuries

Abstract

Electrical injuries are an uncommon but very destructive type of burn, with serious complications and disabilities for the victims. This study was conducted due to the importance of understanding the epidemiology of electrical accidents in planning to prevent their occurrence. This is a retrospective cross-sectional study that was performed on patients with electrical burns referred to Shahid Motahari Educational and Medical Center from 2017 to 2018. Patients’ information was entered in the researcher-made information registration form, including demographic and accident-related information. In this study, most of the accidents occurred in the workplace with high-voltage electricity. Contact with overhead cables and wires was the most common cause of injury. Excision and graft surgeries were the most common type of surgery. The variables of sex, age, length of hospital stay, and type of job had a significant relationship with the type of voltage (P < .05). The difference between the ratio of men to women and the length of hospitalization in the group of injured with high-voltage electricity was greater and most of these patients were construction workers. The variables of sex, nationality, length of hospital stay, and cause of the accident had a significant relationship with the type of job (P < .05). Construction workers are the main group at risk of electrical damage in Iran. Therefore, it is recommended to conduct more extensive studies in the field of recognizing and implementing practical methods of preventing electrical injuries, especially in high-risk work environments.

Oxidative stress mediates hippocampal neuronal apoptosis through ROS/JNK/P53 pathway in rats with PTSD triggered by high-voltage electrical burn

“…High-voltage electrical burn (HVEB) is a rare yet destructive class of injury that has been considered as a serious public health issue worldwide [1,2,3,4]. The highvoltage alternating current causes a series of damages such as muscle tonic contraction and intracellular ion disturbances through thermal and chemical effects, resulting in progressive damage to the body [5,6,7]. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a mental health disorder, is triggered by a frightening and/or traumatic event -whether experienced or witnessed.…”