Characteristics of chosen blood count and biochemical parameters in electricity-related burns. Analysis of a 10-year-old material

Electricity–related burns are a specific type of injury which, despite visible wounds, cause a varied range of intracorporeal disorders. Electricity-related damages depend on many factors, including the type of electricity, the tissue resistance and contact duration. During the electricity flow through the tissues, heat is created as a result of which, in accordance with Joul-Lenz law, the generated temperature may cause a considerably greater range of intracorporeal disorders than those visible on the outside. The electromagnetic field accompanying the current flow causes cell membrane’s injuries, ionic disorders, the activation of inflammatory mediators. As a result of these processes, there may appear disturbance of the cardiac rhythm and muscle or other tissue damage, depending on their resistance and generated heat or density of electricity flow. The authors present the analysis of chosen blood count and biochemical parameters, on the basis of a retrospective analysis of 33 patients treated at the Ward of Burns of MCOP Specialist Hospital named after L. Rydygier in Cracow, in the years 2002-2012. The authors carried out an analysis of 410 parameters evaluated in the second and fourth day following the electricity-related burn. In the analyzed results, the low values of the red cell, hematocrit and sodium level are characteristic, as well as high levels of chloric ions, exceeding the norm more often than the evaluated parameters. Most measurements are in the lower limits of the laboratory-adopted norms or below them and do not undergo statistically significant oscillations between the second and fourth day following the burn.