Chapter 27: Electrical Injuries

Buttaro: Primary Care: A Collaborative Practice, 6th Edition

Multiple Choice

1. An adolescent male has received an electrical injury from a high-voltage wire that was found lying on the ground. The adolescent is stabilized by the emergency medical service (EMS) personnel who responded to the call. Upon arrival at the emergency department, which diagnostic test is the priority?

a. 12-lead electrocardiogram b. Cervical spine radiography c. Complete blood count and electrolytes d. Creatine kinase and myoglobin level

ANS: A

An early essential assessment in all patients with electrical injury is a 12-lead ECG to assess arrhythmias and conduction disturbances. The other labs are part of the initial workup, but not a priority over the ECG. A C-spine radiograph is done if cervical injury is suspected.

Multiple Response

1. What is true about electrical injuries? (Select all that apply.)

a. Alternating current causes tetanic skeletal muscle contractions.

b. Direct current is more dangerous than alternating current.

c. Electrical injury causes more tissue necrosis in nerves than other tissues.

NURSINGTB.COM d. Lightning is less lethal because the duration of electrical strike is short. e. Low-voltage contact has no potential to be lethal.

ANS: A, C, D

Alternating current tends to be more lethal than direct current because it causes tetanic muscle contractions. Electrical injury affects nerves more than other tissues because nerve tissue has the least resistance to direct flow and is most easily damaged. Lightning, although it has a voltage of 10 million to 2 billion volts, has a short duration of contact. Alternating current is more dangerous than direct current. Low-voltage contact has the potential to be lethal.