Abstract
Objective
There are safety concerns about TASER conducted electrical weapon (CEW) use on humans,
and there have been media reports of adverse human outcomes after CEW exposure. Conducted
electrical weapons are often used on physically exhausted subjects. A single CEW application
of a CEW is generally accepted to be 5 seconds of exposure. Some exposures in reality
involve more than 5 seconds. We sought to determine if a prolonged (15 seconds) CEW
exposure on exhausted humans caused acidosis, hyperkalemia, serum lactate change,
or troponin change.
Methods
This was a prospective study of generally healthy human volunteers. Medical histories
and baseline serum values were obtained, and several of the volunteers did have acute
or chronic medical problems. Subjects underwent an exercise protocol until subjective
exhaustion. Exhaustion was defined by the volunteer no longer being able to perform
the exercise at a given pace. Blood was drawn immediately (defined as within 20 seconds)
after exercise and was immediately followed by a 15-second CEW exposure. Blood was
drawn immediately after exposure and again at 16 to 24 hours after exposure. Blood
was analyzed for pH, pco2, potassium, lactate, and troponin. Data were compared using Wilcoxon signed rank
tests.
Results
There were 38 subjects enrolled with an average age of 39 years. The following health
conditions were reported among the volunteers: hypertension (2), gastritis/reflux
(2), active respiratory tract infections (3), asthma (2), chronic muscular pain conditions
(4), pituitary adenoma (1) and glaucoma (1). Sixteen volunteers reported use of prescription
medication at the time of their participation. The median initial pH of 7.38 (interquartile
range [IQR], 7.35-7.40) decreased to 7.23 (IQR, 7.19-7.31) immediately after exercise.
Immediately after exposure, median pH was 7.22 (IQR, 7.18-7.25). It was 7.39 (IQR,
7.37-7.43) at 24 hours. The pco2 increased from 46.3 (IQR, 43.0-54.5) to 57.4 (IQR, 49.9-67.7) immediately after exercise,
decreased to 51.3 (IQR, 44.4-65.0) immediately after exposure, and was 46.3 (IQR,
42.7-51.7) at 24 hours. Lactate increased from a median of 1.65 (IQR, 1.14-2.55) to
8.39 (IQR, 6.98-11.66) immediately after exercise, increased to 9.85 (IQR, 7.70-12.87)
immediately after exposure, and was 1.02 (IQR, 0.91-1.57) at 24 hours. Serum potassium
increased from 3.9 (IQR, 3.8-4.4) to 4.2 (IQR, 4.0-4.9) immediately after exercise,
decreased to 3.8 (IQR, 3.7-4.4) immediately after exposure, and was 4.1 (IQR, 3.9-4.6)
at 24 hours. No troponin elevations were detected.
Conclusion
Prolonged CEW application on exhausted humans was not associated with worsening change
in pH or troponin. Decreases in pco2 and potassium and a small increase in lactate were found. Worsening acidosis theories
due to CEW use in this population are not supported by these data.
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Article Info
Publication History
Accepted:
March 6,
2008
Received in revised form:
February 11,
2008
Received:
December 15,
2007
Footnotes
â?†Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine, May 2007, Chicago, IL, and at the 4th Annual Mediterranean Emergency Medicine Congress, September 2007, Sorrento, Italy.
��Partial funding of this project was provided by TASER International, Scottsdale, AZ, which paid for the cost of data analysis equipment and statistical software.
Identification
Copyright
© 2009 Elsevier Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
