Keywords :
Electric burn, Pneumonitis, Pneumomediastinum, Thorax, Chest
Citation Information :
Soni AK, Deepali, Garg K, Dutta K. An Unusual Case of Pulmonary Injury Due to Electrical Burns. Indian J Chest Dis Allied Sci 2021; 63 (1):41-43.
Exposure to electrical current can affect any organ in the body. The nature of the affected tissue; the damage depends on the type of current and the duration of exposure. Cardiac lesions are the most typical visceral lesions associated with electrical burns. Pulmonary involvement is an infrequent manifestation. We report here a case of electrical injury to the lung parenchyma, with chest wall damage in a labourer; who sustained a high voltage electrical shock while working on a construction site. Chest radiograph and contrast-enhanced computer tomography (CECT) of chest was suggestive of consolidation of bilateral lung fields with pneumomediastinum. All other possible causes of parenchymal abnormalities were ruled out. This case demonstrates that a high voltage electric current can cause isolated lung damage and timely management is the crux to salvage the life of the patient.
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