Mechanisms of Electrode Induced Injury. Part 3: Practical Concepts and Avoidance

This three part series of articles has discussed mechanisms of electrode related injuries from a theoretical viewpoint in Part 1 (Stecker et al. 2006) and from a clinical experience viewpoint in Part 2 (Patterson et al. 2007). The third and final part of the series discusses practical concepts for the end user to use to both understand the basic principles at work in the creation of electrode related injuries as well as to avoid electrode related injuries. To help accomplish this, an online presentation with animations and voiceover is used to supplement written explanations of these basic principles. Areas of interest include mechanical pressure points, adhesives in contact with skin, electrosurgical unit (ESU) radiofrequency concepts, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) radiofrequency concepts, electrochemical concepts, and basic electrical safety concepts. The goal of this article series has been to heighten awareness of electrode related lesions in general and to help clinicians become better at injury avoidance. A list of electrode related injury avoidance fundamentals is presented. Finally, practical scenarios are presented to illustrate the applications of the concepts.