<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><bold>Introduction:</bold> Cardiac arrhythmias caused by electrical injuries are rare among emergency service admittances. We present a case of ventricular fibrillation (VF) with a rare etiology, confirmed by speckle-tracking imaging.<bold>Case presentation:</bold> A 38-year-old man was addressed to our hospital to evaluate the etiology of an episode of VF, promptly resuscitated in a territorial hospital. On admission, his 12-lead electrocardiogram revealed a sinus rhythm, without any ST-T changes or atrioventricular conduction disorders. Transthoracic echocardiography and coronary angiography were normal, and the electrophysiological study did not induce VF. Anamnesis showed that the arrhythmia occurred after an electrical injury, resulting from the contact with a domestic low-voltage source. Speckle-tracking imaging revealed closure of the electric arc within the heart, which could explain the absence of skin-burn injuries in this case. The patient was discharged after seven days of hospitalization, without any complication.<bold>Conclusions:</bold> VF can occur after an unexpected electrical shock during a household accident. This case report underlines the need for a complex interdisciplinary approach in such difficult cases, when the absence of any electrical injuries on the skin makes it difficult to recognize the electrical shock that triggered the ventricular fibrillation.</abstract>

Introduction: Cardiac arrhythmias caused by electrical injuries are rare among emergency service admittances. We present a case of ventricular fibrillation (VF) with a rare etiology, confirmed by speckle-tracking imaging.Case presentation: A 38-year-old man was addressed to our hospital to evaluate the etiology of an episode of VF, promptly resuscitated in a territorial hospital. On admission, his 12-lead electrocardiogram revealed a sinus rhythm, without any ST-T changes or atrioventricular conduction disorders. Transthoracic echocardiography and coronary angiography were normal, and the electrophysiological study did not induce VF. Anamnesis showed that the arrhythmia occurred after an electrical injury, resulting from the contact with a domestic low-voltage source. Speckle-tracking imaging revealed closure of the electric arc within the heart, which could explain the absence of skin-burn injuries in this case. The patient was discharged after seven days of hospitalization, without any complication.Conclusions: VF can occur after an unexpected electrical shock during a household accident. This case report underlines the need for a complex interdisciplinary approach in such difficult cases, when the absence of any electrical injuries on the skin makes it difficult to recognize the electrical shock that triggered the ventricular fibrillation.

A Rare Cause of Ventricular Fibrillation Confirmed by Speckle-Tracking Imaging

“Prof. Dr. George I.M. Georgescu” Cardiovascular Diseases Institute

“Grigore T. Popa” University of Medicine and Pharmacy

“Victor Babeş” University of Medicine and Pharmacy

Journal of Cardiovascular Emergencies

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

{"article-title":"A Rare Cause of Ventricular Fibrillation Confirmed by Speckle-Tracking Imaging"}

Introduction: Cardiac arrhythmias caused by electrical injuries are rare among emergency service admittances. We present a case of ventricular fibrillation...

A Rare Cause of Ventricular Fibrillation Confirmed by Speckle-Tracking Imaging

Published Online: Jan 11, 2018

Page range: 188 - 192

Received: Nov 25, 2017

Accepted: Dec 10, 2017

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/jce-2017-0022

Keywords
ventricular fibrillation, electrocution, skin injuries, speckle tracking

© 2017 Larisa Anghel et al., published by De Gruyter Open

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

A Rare Cause of Ventricular Fibrillation Confirmed by Speckle-Tracking Imaging

Published Online: Jan 11, 2018

Page range: 188 - 192

Received: Nov 25, 2017

Accepted: Dec 10, 2017

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/jce-2017-0022

Keywordsventricular fibrillation, electrocution, skin injuries, speckle tracking

© 2017 Larisa Anghel et al., published by De Gruyter Open

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
ventricular fibrillation, electrocution, skin injuries, speckle tracking