Human skin burns induced by defibrillator default current.

The attachment of various types of electronic instrumentation to a patient can lead to hazardous interactions. Component malfunction in a single piece of equipment connected to a patient may be totally innocuous. However, the same fault occurring in an identical piece of equipment functioning as one component in a network of monitoring and electrosurgical equipment can result in severe burns or even electrocution. This paper describes interaction between a defective defibrillator paddle and an electrosurgical unit. Burns and ventricular fibrillation resulting from this malfunction and interaction are described in detail and the electrical circuits are analyzed.