Bohr S, Almarzouqi F, Pallua N
Department of Plastic and Hand Surgery - Burn Centre, University Clinics RWTH Aachen, Germany.
Ann Burns Fire Disasters. 2016 Sep 30;29(3):231-233.
Currently, electronic cigarette (EC) devices are widely used as an alternative to conventional smoking. The underlying technical principle is an electric coil-based vaporizer unit, which vaporizes various solutions for inhalation purposes with a rechargeable lithium battery unit as power source. We report a case of extensive burn injury resulting from the thermal explosion of a battery unit within an EC device. Though internal thermal instabilities of lithium ion batteries are a known safety issue, the unique feature here is a pronounced amplification of the extent of burn injury due to an additional scalding burn mechanism that resulted from heating of the liquid reservoir adjacent to the battery. Thus, we demonstrate a relevant design flaw in various EC devices, which in the authors' opinion needs to be addressed both by manufacturers and safety regulations.
目前，电子烟设备作为传统吸烟的替代品被广泛使用。其基本技术原理是基于电线圈的蒸发器单元，该单元以可充电锂电池单元为电源，将各种溶液汽化以供吸入。我们报告了一例因电子烟设备内电池单元热爆炸导致的大面积烧伤病例。虽然锂离子电池的内部热不稳定性是一个已知的安全问题，但这里独特的是，由于电池附近储液器受热导致额外的烫伤机制，烧伤程度明显加重。因此，我们展示了各种电子烟设备中一个相关的设计缺陷，作者认为制造商和安全法规都需要解决这一问题。
