High tension electrical burns

Summary In this study, 85 patients with high-tension electrical burns who were seen in an 11 year period were reviewed. Only victims with documented passage of high-tension electrical current (more than 1000 volts) through the body were included. A total of 210 operations were performed for exploration, debridement and closures of the injuries; 44 cases underwent a total of 65 amputations. Acute renal failure developed in two cases (2.3%) and both died. No cases of clostridial infection occurred. Four patients (4.7%) died in this series. We came to the conclusion that the primary treatment of these burns must include aggressive fluid resuscitation and early aggressive debridement.Presented at the IV European Burns Congress in Barcelona, Spain, September 23–26, 1991