Ramirez Jesus I, Ridgway Catherine A, Lee Jeanne G, Potenza Bruce M, Sen Soman, Palmieri Tina L, Greenhalgh David G, Maguina Pirko
From the *Department of Surgery, University of California Davis; †Department of Surgery, Shriners Hospitals for Children Northern California, Sacramento; and ‡Department of Surgery, University of California San Diego.
J Burn Care Res. 2017 Jul/Aug;38(4):220-224. doi: 10.1097/BCR.0000000000000472.
Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) are novel battery-operated devices that deliver nicotine as an inhaled aerosol. They originated from China in 2007 and their use has rapidly increased worldwide in the past decade, yet they remain largely unregulated. Reports of injuries associated with their use have appeared as unusual events in the news media and as case reports in the medical literature. This study was undertaken to explore e-cigarettes as a mechanism of burn injury. Referral records to three burn centers from January 2007 to July 2016 were searched to identify patients with injuries caused by e-cigarettes. Data were gathered from the electronic medical records (EMRs) of patients referred within the most recent 18 months. Thirty patients with burns resulting from e-cigarettes were identified. Twenty-nine were referred within the most recent 18 months. Only one was referred in the preceding 8 years. An explosion was identified by the patient as the inciting event in 26 of the 30 injuries (87%). Explosion of an isolated battery while it was carried on personal attire was reported in 10 cases. Explosion of a fully assembled e-cigarette was described in 16 cases. In seven of these 16 cases, the explosion occurred while the device was idle and carried on personal attire. In the other nine cases, the explosion occurred while the device was being operated. No injury occurred while batteries were charging. The mean age of injured patients was 30 years. The mean size of burn was 4% TBSA. The thighs, hands, and genitalia were the most common sites of injury. Twenty-six patients required hospital admission and nine required surgery. Serious burn injuries from e-cigarettes have recently occurred with greatly increased frequency. The increase in injuries appears out of proportion to the increased popularity of e-cigarettes. The most common pattern of injury is explosion when either the idle device or its batteries are carried on personal attire.
电子烟是一种新型的电池驱动装置，通过吸入气溶胶来输送尼古丁。它们于2007年起源于中国，在过去十年中其使用在全球范围内迅速增加，但在很大程度上仍未得到监管。与使用电子烟相关的伤害报告在新闻媒体中作为异常事件出现，在医学文献中则作为病例报告出现。本研究旨在探讨电子烟作为烧伤机制的情况。检索了2007年1月至2016年7月三家烧伤中心的转诊记录，以确定因电子烟导致受伤的患者。从最近18个月内转诊患者的电子病历（EMR）中收集数据。确定了30例因电子烟导致烧伤的患者。其中29例是在最近18个月内转诊的。在之前的8年中仅转诊了1例。在30例损伤中有26例（87%）患者认为爆炸是引发事件。10例报告了个人衣物上携带的单个电池发生爆炸。16例描述了完整组装的电子烟发生爆炸。在这16例中的7例中，爆炸发生在设备闲置并放在个人衣物上时。在另外9例中，爆炸发生在设备运行时。电池充电时未发生损伤。受伤患者的平均年龄为30岁。烧伤的平均面积为4% 总体表面积。大腿、手部和生殖器是最常见的受伤部位。26例患者需要住院治疗，9例需要手术。最近因电子烟导致的严重烧伤损伤频率大幅增加。损伤的增加似乎与电子烟日益普及的程度不成比例。最常见的损伤模式是当闲置设备或其电池放在个人衣物上时发生爆炸。
