Assessment of Electrosurgery Burns in Cardiac Surgery

BACKGROUND: Monopolar surgery is applied mostly in major operations, while bipolar is used in delicate ones. Attention must be paid in electrosurgery application to avoid electrical burns. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to assess factors associated with electrosurgery burns in cardiac surgery operating rooms. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This was a case-control study in which two groups of 150 patients undergoing cardiac surgery in Imam Khomeini Hospital were recruited. Several factors like gender, age, operation duration, smoking, diseases, infection, atopia, , immunosuppressive drugs use, hepatic cirrhosis, and pulmonary diseases were compared between the two groups. Patients were observed for 24 hours for development of any burn related to the operation. Data was analyzed using SPSS v.11.5, by Chi square and T-test. RESULTS: Patients in the two groups were similar except for two factors. DM and pulmonary diseases which showed significant differences (P = 0.005 and P = 0.002 respectively). Seventy-five patients from controls and 35 from the study group developed burns, which was significant (P ˂ 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: None of the factors were significantly related to developing burns. The differences between the two groups highlights the importance of systems modifications to lessen the incidence of burns.