Shocked Though the Heart and YouTube Is to Blame-The Rising Incidence of Accidental Trans-cardiac Electrocution From Do-It-Yourself Fractal Wood Art, and a Call to Action

High voltage hobby; electrical burn following fractal wood burning: A case report

Fractal wood burning is a form of pyrography art, creating Lichtenberg figures (intricate fern-like patterns) in wood using high voltage electricity. The electrical device used is commonly constructed using a high voltage transformer from a home microwave oven. This popular but dangerous art technique has resulted in electrical injuries with exceedingly high mortality rates. Presented is the case of a 37-year-old female artist who sustained an electrical injury from fractal wood burning resulting in full thickness burns to her hands. The burn wounds were reconstructed using a synthetic dermal substitute. This case report highlights the dangers associated with fractal burning, in particular the risk of high voltage electrical burns.

Atypical Case of Fractal Wood Burning: Two Burned Bodies

ABSTRACT

Fractal wood burning is a form of pyrography that uses high-voltage electricity to burn branching, Lichtenberg-type patterns into a wooden canvas. This process often uses electrical transformers salvaged from household appliances, such as microwave ovens, to amplify available voltage to potentially lethal levels. In this case, 2 individuals were found dead inside their burned residential garage. Initially, law enforcement was suspicious of a double homicide with subsequent arson. However, postmortem examination showed the decedents had neither fatal antemortem trauma nor significant natural disease. Findings consistent with smoke inhalation were absent, suggesting that the victims were deceased before the fire. Interestingly, one decedent had jumper cables in their hand, and their recent computer activity included fractal wood burning-related content. Upon further scene investigation, 2 microwave ovens were identified in the garage, one of which had been disassembled with its transformer found adjacent to the bodies. The decedents likely died from high-voltage electrocution with ignition of the wooden canvas starting the structural fire. Since the first reported case in 2016, there have been 33 reported deaths attributed to fractal wood burning. The current study would be the first to report multiple fatalities due to a single fractal wood burning event.

Electrocution Due to Fractal Wood Burning: Two Case Reports and a Review of the Medical Literature

ABSTRACT

Fractal wood burning is a new technique of pyrography that passes an electrical current through a piece of wood resulting in decorative electrical burns. This practice has become increasingly popular with many walk-through tutorials of the process found online. This includes videos of how to build homemade devices fashioned from disassembled microwave oven transformers. There have been 31 reported deaths and many serious injuries due to fractal wood burning resulting in news headlines, warning statements, and an outright ban of the practice at certain woodworking events. The medical community has begun to recognize the danger of fractal wood burning with a few cases of severe burn injuries reported. We report 2 cases of electrocution from fractal wood burning accidents. The scene investigations were examined, including the similarities in the homemade microwave oven transformers that were used, as well as the autopsy findings. The pathophysiology of fractal wood burning and the creation of Lichtenberg figures is discussed as well as the high-voltage injury patterns seen in cases of fractal wood burning accidents. Other cases of electrical injury from fractal wood burning accidents reported in the news and medical literature were then examined in terms of demographics, burn pattern, cardiac findings, and whether a homemade wood burning device was involved.

The Value of Emergency Nursing Mode in the Treatment of Patients with Traumatic Shock

OBJECTIVE

To study the value of emergency nursing mode in patients with traumatic shock.

METHODS

76 patients with traumatic shock in our hospital from March 2019 to February 2021 were selected and divided into study group and control group according to different rescue modes, 38 cases in each group. The study group adopted emergency nursing mode for rescue, while the control group adopted routine nursing mode for rescue. The rescue intervention, emergency stay and preoperative preparation time, rescue success rate, emergency rescue effect, complications, and satisfaction rate of patients and their families for rescue were compared between the two groups.

RESULTS

The rescue intervention, emergency stay and preoperative preparation time of the study group were significantly shorter than those of the control group, and the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05). The rescue success rate of the study group was 97.37%, which was significantly higher than 84.21% of the control group, and the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05). The improvement rate of the study group was significantly higher than that of the control group, the disability rate was significantly lower than that of the control group, the overall emergency rescue effect was better than that of the control group, and the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05). The incidence of complications in the study group was 2.63%, which was significantly lower than 23.68% in the control group (P < 0.05). The satisfaction rate of patients and their families in the study group was 97.37%, which was significantly higher than 84.21% in the control group (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Emergency nursing mode in patients with traumatic shock owns higher rescue value, can buy time for the operation, improve the success rate and effect of rescue, make safety and satisfaction higher. Overall, for patients with traumatic shock, emergency nursing mode is better than conventional rescue nursing.