high-voltage

Electric shock occurs when electricity passes through the body, causing a range of symptoms from mild tingling to potentially life-threatening injuries such as burns, seizures, and cardiac arrest. In rare cases, Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss (SSNHL) has also been associated with an electric shock. 

Case Report:

A 35-year-old male presented with left-sided hearing loss following an electric shock. The audiometric evaluation revealed left Sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL). The patient was prescribed oral corticosteroids showing some improvement in hearing thresholds and was advised hearing aid for the residual SNHL. 

Limited literature exists on the association between high-voltage electric shocks and hearing loss. This case report highlights the importance of prompt evaluation and management of (SSNHL) in individuals affected by electric shock.

Electrical burn, one of the serious public health challenges, is considered one of the most devastating due to higher mortalities. Burn injuries impose a high economic burden on patients, the health system, and society. We aimed to determine the prevalence of electrical burn injury among burn patients hospitalized in Iran.

A systematic literature search was conducted to identify articles published from Iran in the electronic databases of Scopus, PubMed, Embase, Google Scholar, Web of Science, and SID from Jan 2000 to Dec 2020. Next, eight publications from international databases and ten articles from the Persian SID database that met our inclusion criteria were selected for data extraction and meta-analysis. The inclusion criteria were articles done among the Iranian population with burn patients.

In all studies, the pooled prevalence of electrical burn was estimated at 3.8% (95% CI: 3.1% – 4.5%) in burn patients. Occurrence of electrical burn-in males and females was 92.3% (95% CI: 87.9% – 95.2%) and 7.7% (95% CI: 4.8% – 12.1%) respectively. Also, the mortality rate was 3.5% (95% CI: 2.2% – 5.6%).

The epidemiological study of electrical burns helps determine the effective factors in the occurrence of this type of damage.