Boys go camping, get shock of their lives

Lightning strike causes IED-like injuries

2013-09-20

(Press-News.org) WASHINGTON -- Eight-year-old twin boys, camping in a backyard tent, received penetrating blast injuries when a bolt of lightning struck a transformer near their tent, sending them to the emergency department for treatment. The extremely rare case study was published online yesterday in Annals of Emergency Medicine. ("'Thunderstruck' -- Penetrating Thoracic Injury from Lightning Strike")

"One of the boys had a missile trajectory through the lung -- very much like injuries caused by improvised explosive devices (IEDs) -- which we could have missed because on the outside he had only a tiny puncture wound to the chest," said lead study author Lt. Col. O.J.F. van Waes, of the department of trauma surgery at Erasmus University Medical Center in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. "His brother was also injured. What is remarkable is that they were not struck by lightning themselves, but were hit by shrapnel that went flying when lightning struck a transformer near them."

The less seriously injured brother had second-degree burns to the face and copper wires protruding from his shoulder blade which were visible in the physical exam. The other brother had a collapsed lung due to a two-centimeter length of copper wire buried in his chest. Both boys were admitted to the hospital, treated successfully for their injuries and released.

The most typical types of lightning injuries are burns caused by direct lightning strikes to the body.

"We were familiar with IED-type injuries from our deployment in the recent military conflict in Afghanistan," said Dr. van Waes. "Our experience in the military setting helped us deliver prompt treatment to a very seriously injured boy. Remember: If there is lightning anywhere near you, go indoors."

###

Annals of Emergency Medicine is the peer-reviewed scientific journal for the American College of Emergency Physicians, the national medical society representing emergency medicine. ACEP is committed to advancing emergency care through continuing education, research, and public education. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, ACEP has 53 chapters representing each state, as well as Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. A Government Services Chapter represents emergency physicians employed by military branches and other government agencies. For more information, visit http://www.acep.org.

For Immediate Release
September 19, 2013

Contact:

Julie Lloyd
jlloyd@acep.org
202-728-0610 x. 3010
Twitter @emergencydocs
annemergmed.com
newsroom.acep.org

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Immune cells open window to breast cancer risk

2013-09-20

University of Adelaide researchers have made a major discovery that highlights the important role played by immune cells in the risk of developing breast cancer. Researchers have focused their efforts on immune cells known as macrophages in the breast, and how the role of these cells changes because of fluctuations in hormones during different times of the month. The results of laboratory studies – published online ahead of print in the journal Biology of Reproduction – show that while the immune cells have a role to play in the normal function of the breast, at certain ...

Global analysis reveals new insights into the ribosome -- with important implications for disease

2013-09-20

BOSTON –In molecular biology, the ribosome represents the machinery necessary to assemble proteins, the building blocks of life. In this process, information encoded in the genome's DNA is first transcribed to messenger RNA in the nucleus, then transported to the ribosome where protein-assembly instructions are put in motion to translate the code into actual proteins. But in recent years, it has been demonstrated that the ribosome is far more than just a processing unit; indeed, current research points to an important role for this complex structure in actively regulating ...

Groundbreaking pain research by University of Kentucky scientists

2013-09-20

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- The bodies of mammals, including humans, respond to injury by releasing endogenous opioids -- compounds that mitigate acute pain. A team of researchers led by those at the University of Kentucky has uncovered groundbreaking new information about how the body responds to traumatic injury with the development of a surprisingly long-lasting opioid mechanism of natural chronic pain control. Remarkably, the body develops both physical and physiological dependence on this opioid system, just as it does to opiate narcotic drugs. The research is featured on the ...

Clues to the growth of the colossus in Coma

2013-09-20

A team of astronomers has discovered enormous arms of hot gas in the Coma cluster of galaxies by using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and ESA's XMM-Newton. These features, which span at least half a million light years, provide insight into how the Coma cluster has grown through mergers of smaller groups and clusters of galaxies to become one of the largest structures in the Universe held together by gravity. A new composite image, with Chandra data in pink and optical data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey appearing in white and blue, features these spectacular arms. ...

Mantas, devil rays butchered for apothecary trade now identifiable

2013-09-20

Since dried filters from the mouths of filter-feeding rays hit apothecary shop menus in Asia -- the thought being that eating ground-up filters will cleanse one's liver -- there's been no way to know which of these gentle-natured rays was being slaughtered. Unlike predatory rays that attack and crush prey with their mouths, the filter-feeder rays eat plankton particles, larvae and fish eggs that they sieve from seawater. Most lack barbs other rays are notorious for, and the filter-feeders are generally considered harmless, although one group is provocatively named devil ...

NASA sees Usagi become a typhoon

2013-09-20

What was a tropical storm rapidly intensified into Typhoon Usagi within 24 hours as it moves through the Northwestern Pacific Ocean. NASA satellite data revealed a 20-mile-wide eye and bands of thunderstorms spiraling into the center of the monster storm. The MODIS instrument, or Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer aboard NASA's Terra satellite captured an amazing image of Typhoon Usagi on Sept. 19 at 02:25 UTC moving near the Philippines. The image showed spiraling bands of thunderstorms wrapping into the well-developed center of circulation and a clear eye. ...

Study suggests check-cashing stores target areas with high crime

2013-09-20

TORONTO, Sept. 19, 2013—Cheque-cashing outlets may be strategically targeting persons who live in high-crime neighbourhoods, according to researchers at St. Michael's Hospital. Dr. Joel Ray, a physician-researcher at the hospital's Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, compared the density of cheque-cashing places in Toronto neighbourhoods with police-reported crime data. Along with his colleagues, Dr. Ray observed a nearly seven times higher rate of cheque-cashing places in neighbourhoods with the highest rate of violent crime, even after accounting for nearby retail alcohol ...

New islet cell transplant procedure offers improved outcomes for patients with type 1 diabetes

2013-09-20

Philadelphia – The latest approach to islet transplantation, in which clusters of insulin-producing cells known as islets are transplanted from a donor pancreas into another person's liver, has produced substantially improved results for patients with type 1 diabetes, and may offer a more durable alternative to a whole pancreas transplant. Participants in the new study received islet cells isolated from the pancreas of organ donors to help their bodies produce insulin, the life-sustaining hormone responsible for absorbing glucose from the blood. The new approach, which ...

Researchers tease apart workings of a common gene

2013-09-20

NEW YORK (September 19, 2013) -- Researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College have discovered why a tiny alteration in a brain gene, found in 20 percent of the population, contributes to the risk for anxiety, depression and memory loss. Their discovery, reported in Nature Communications, describes new functions for the alteration, a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene. This gene is a powerful regulator of the growth and function of neurons, and the establishment of brain circuitry. The common alteration occurs when ...

Psychopathic traits in teenagers not cast in stone

2013-09-20

Most youths are concerned about other people's feelings, they feel bad or guilty when they have done something wrong and they adhere to social rules. A small group of youths, however, does not. These youths express psychopathic personality traits that are associated with adult psychopathy, a serious personality disorder that is linked with antisocial behavior and criminality. A study conducted by Selma Salihovic and her research team at Örebro University in Sweden shows that for this small group of youth, psychopathic traits remain quite stable over a period of four years. ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Scientists engineer substrates hostile to bacteria but friendly to cells

New tablet shows promise for the control and elimination of intestinal worms

Project to redesign clinical trials for neurologic conditions for underserved populations funded with $2.9M grant to UTHealth Houston

Menarini Group and Insilico Medicine enter a second exclusive global license agreement for an AI discovered preclinical asset targeting high unmet needs in oncology

Climate fee on food could effectively cut greenhouse gas emissions in agriculture while ensuring a social balance

[Press-News.org] Boys go camping, get shock of their lives
Lightning strike causes IED-like injuries