Electrical weapons and rhabdomyolysis
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ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Electrical weapons and rhabdomyolysis Mark W. Kroll 1
&
Klaus K. Witte 2 & Mollie B. Ritter 3 & Sebastian N. Kunz 4 & Richard M. Luceri 5 & John C. Criscione 6
Accepted: 3 September 2020 # Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract It has been suggested that an application of a conducted electrical weapon (CEW) might cause muscle injury such as rhabdomyolysis and an acute inflammatory response. We explored this hypothesis by testing the effects of electrical weapons on circulating markers of inflammation and muscle damage. In a prospective study, 29 volunteers received a full-trunk 5-s TASER® X26(E) CEW exposure. Venous blood samples were taken before, 5 min after, and at 24 h following the discharge. We tested for changes in serum levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), myoglobin, albumin, globulin, albumin/globulin ratio, aspartate and alanine aminotransferase, creatine kinase, total protein, bilirubin, and lactic acid dehydrogenase. Uncorrected CRP and myoglobin levels were lower in the immediate post exposure period (CRP levels 1.44 ± 1.39 v 1.43 ± 1.32 mg/L; p = 0.046 and myoglobin 36.8 ± 11.9 v 36.1 ± 13.9 μg/L; p = 0.0019) but these changes were not significant after correction for multiple comparisons. There were no changes in other biomarkers. At 24 h, CRP levels had decreased by 30% to 1.01 ± 0.80 mg/L (p = 0.001 from baseline). ALP was unchanged immediately after the CEW application but was reduced by 5% from baseline (66.2 ± 16.1 to 62.7 ± 16.1 IU/L; p = 0.0003) at 24 h. No other biomarkers were different from baseline at 24 h. A full-trunk electrical weapon exposure did not lead to clinically significant changes in the acute phase protein levels or changes in measures of muscle cellular injury. We found no biomarker evidence of rhabdomyolysis. Keywords CEW . Electrical weapon . C-reactive protein . Lactate dehydrogenase . Myoglobin . Alkaline phosphatase . Rhabdomyolysis . Taser®
Introduction The handheld conducted electrical weapon (CEW) carried by law enforcement professionals uses compressed nitrogen to deploy 2 small probes at typical distances of up to 7.7 m, [1,
* Mark W. Kroll [email protected] 1
University of Minnesota, Box 23, Crystal Bay, MN 55323, USA
2
Leeds Inst. of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Medicine, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK
3
Edina, USA
4
Institute for Forensic Medicine, University Hospital Ulm, Ulm, Germany
5
Holy Cross Hospital, 4725 N. Federal Hwy, Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33308, USA
6
Biomedical Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA
2] allowing the delivery of ultra-short duration (50–100 μs) electrical pulses (19–22 per second) which stimulate Type A-α motor neurons between, and in close proximity to, the probes. Stimulation of these neurons, which control skeletal muscle contraction, typically leads to a loss of regional muscle control and a fall to the ground, facilitating a safe end to a violent confrontation or to gain compliance. Several series have collat
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