Long-term consequences of electrical injury without initial signs of severity: The AFTER-ELEC study.
Electrical injury
Long-term consequences
Low-voltage injuries
Neuropsychological symptoms
Journal
The American journal of emergency medicine
ISSN: 1532-8171
Titre abrégé: Am J Emerg Med
Pays: United States
ID NLM: 8309942
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
Dec 2021
Dec 2021
Historique:
received:
16
06
2021
revised:
24
08
2021
accepted:
07
09
2021
pubmed:
21
9
2021
medline:
29
12
2021
entrez:
20
9
2021
Statut:
ppublish
Résumé
There is no specificity of emergency or long-term management of benign electrical injuries (EI). The main objective of our work was to describe the occurrence of long-term complications of EI considered as benign. Single-center retrospective study of a cohort of adult patients who consulted for EI without initials signs of severity in an emergency department between 2012 and 2019. All included patients were secondarily contacted by telephone at least one year after their EI to complete a questionnaire. 76 adult patients visited the emergency department and 48 of them could be contacted by phone. 82% of the recalled patients had at least one complication following their EI. The main long-term complications were neurological (65%), psychological (58%) and cardiological (31%). Patients recalled eight years after EI had higher rates of neuropsychological complications than those recalled one year after EI. Only the time spent in the emergency department was statistically longer in patients who developed long-term complications compared to those who did not. The occurrence of long-term neuropsychological complications predominates. The knowledge and management of these long-term consequences must be particularly well known by emergency physicians because they are often the first medical contact of the patient. Our results also seem to show a crescendo in time of the occurrence of long-term complications. all health professionals involved in the care of victims of a EI must be made widely aware of the occurrence of these long-term complications, particularly neuropsychological ones, in order to improve the long-term patient care.
Sections du résumé
BACKGROUND
BACKGROUND
There is no specificity of emergency or long-term management of benign electrical injuries (EI). The main objective of our work was to describe the occurrence of long-term complications of EI considered as benign.
METHODS
METHODS
Single-center retrospective study of a cohort of adult patients who consulted for EI without initials signs of severity in an emergency department between 2012 and 2019. All included patients were secondarily contacted by telephone at least one year after their EI to complete a questionnaire.
RESULTS
RESULTS
76 adult patients visited the emergency department and 48 of them could be contacted by phone. 82% of the recalled patients had at least one complication following their EI. The main long-term complications were neurological (65%), psychological (58%) and cardiological (31%). Patients recalled eight years after EI had higher rates of neuropsychological complications than those recalled one year after EI. Only the time spent in the emergency department was statistically longer in patients who developed long-term complications compared to those who did not.
DISCUSSION
CONCLUSIONS
The occurrence of long-term neuropsychological complications predominates. The knowledge and management of these long-term consequences must be particularly well known by emergency physicians because they are often the first medical contact of the patient. Our results also seem to show a crescendo in time of the occurrence of long-term complications.
CONCLUSION
CONCLUSIONS
all health professionals involved in the care of victims of a EI must be made widely aware of the occurrence of these long-term complications, particularly neuropsychological ones, in order to improve the long-term patient care.
Identifiants
pubmed: 34543835
pii: S0735-6757(21)00758-0
doi: 10.1016/j.ajem.2021.09.022
pii:
doi:
Types de publication
Journal Article
Langues
eng
Sous-ensembles de citation
IM
Pagination
518-525Informations de copyright
Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Déclaration de conflit d'intérêts
Declaration of Competing Interest The authors have nothing to declare.