Electrocution Related Mortality: A 11 year Retrospective Study

Background: Electricity is a fundamental part of the modern civilized community. Electrical burns are responsible for considerable morbidity and mortality and are usually preventable with simple safety measures. In India, the voltage of domestic supply is usually 220 V to 240 V. Death due to electrocution are rare at less than 100 V and most of deaths occur at voltages above 200 V. Majority of the electrical injuries are as a result of ignorance, misuse or carelessness.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional and observational study, which was conducted in tertiary care teaching institutes in Western India. The study includes 89 deceased persons died due to electrocution brought for postmortem examination.

Result: The majority of the victims were male (77, 86.52%) as compared with female (12; 13.48%) and the male: female ratio was 6.41:1. The most common age group involved was 21–30 years (30.34%). The upper extremity was by far the most common site involved (71deaths; 79.78%) followed by the lower extremity (25,28.09%). Most of deaths were caused most frequently by accidental touching of electrical wires (29 cases, 32.58%)

Conclusion: Electrocution deaths comprised 1.53% of the total autopsy cases conducted during the study period. Prevention is the gold standard and it can be achieved with proper awareness about handling of electrical appliances.