First Aid Treatment of Electric Shock

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Abstract
The mode of death was determined in the 82 electrocutions as being either asphyxial or cardiac in type. Using the information obtained from the electrocutions, the functional response in the 7,724 electrical accidents was determined. From this, the relative success of the first aid treatments was decided. External cardiac massage with mouth-to-mouth artificial respiration was a failure even when applied to the cases with ventricular fibrillation. Only four cases of recovery from ventricular fibrillation following electric shock are known. Mouth-to-mouth artificial respiration compared very unfavorably with the older manual methods. It is recommended that the first aid treatment of electric shock be reevaluated. The recommended treatment should consist of two blows on the chest followed by a manual method of artificial respiration. In electric shock, external cardiac massage with mouth-to-mouth artificial respiration should not be recommended for use by first aid personnel.

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