Electrical Injuries; Roadside to Resus

The Resus Room

Welcome back to The Resus Room! This time, we’re diving into the fascinating and often overlooked world of electrical injuries. From household mishaps and workplace accidents to tasers and even lightning strikes, electrical injuries can range from minor shocks to life-threatening cardiac arrests.

As always, we’ll be taking you through the full spectrum of care, from first contact at the roadside to critical management in resus. And let’s be honest, there’s a real lack of clear guidance out there when it comes to managing these cases. So, we’ve done the legwork, scoured the literature, and we’re here to make sense of it all.

In this episode, we’ll cover:

• Pathophysiology; how electricity interacts with the body and why not all shocks are created equal.
• Classification; what makes a low-voltage injury different from a high-voltage one, and why that matters.
• Prehospital & ED Management; who needs an ECG, who needs admission, and what to do with those tricky "seemingly fine" patients.
• Special cases; tasers, lightning strikes, and the unique challenges they pose.

One of the big questions we’ll be tackling: Does everyone who gets an electric shock need to go to hospital? We’ve all seen them, the patient that has a shock at work, but they feel fine. So, do they need a work-up, or can they safely go home?

So, grab a coffee (or maybe a non-conductive beverage of choice), and let’s get stuck in to Electrical Injuries!

Once again we’d love to hear any thoughts or feedback either on the website or via X @TheResusRoom!

Simon, Rob & James