High voltage electrical injuries in the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital

Burn injuries are a common presentation in Nigerian hospitals and result from a variety of causes. Recently, many have resulted from Petroleum related fire incidents. High voltage electrical injuries are relatively rare; lightning strikes even rarer. In traditional societies where Traditional medicine practitioners are usually the first to be contacted and where late presentation to hospitals is the rule, complications such as the wet gangrene necessitating amputation are common. Even when patients present relatively early and are resuscitated and treated, complete prosthetic rehabilitation is difficult because of poverty and lack of social support systems.

This review presents three cases of high voltage electrical burns resulting from typical 11KVA burns as well as lightning strike. It also highlights the role of prompt presentation in a health facility with appropriate resuscitation in determining good treatment outcomes.