An unusual electrical burn caused by alkaline batteries

Electrical burns caused by low-voltage batteries are rarely reported. We recently encountered a male patient who suffered from a superficial second-degree burn over his left elbow and back. The total body surface area of the burn was estimated to be 6%. After interviewing the patient, the cause was suspected to be related to the explosion of a music player on the left-side of his waist, carried on his belt while he was painting a bathroom wall. Elevated creatine kinase levels and hematuria indicated rhabdomyolysis and suggested an electrical burn. Initial treatment was done in the burn intensive care unit with fluid challenge and wound care. The creatine kinase level decreased gradually and the hematuria was gone after 4 days in the intensive care unit. He was then transferred to the general ward for further wound management and discharged from our burn center after a total of 11 days without surgical intervention. Copyright (C) 2012, Elsevier Taiwan LLC & Formosan Medical Association. All rights reserved