Chicago Electrical Trauma Rehabilitation Institute
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The Chicago Electrical Trauma Rehabilitation Institute (CETRI), located in Chicago, Illinois, was founded in 2009 by a team of scientists and physicians a that had collaborated for more than decades to better understand and treat electrical injury patients. These collaborators were members of the faculty of four major medical centers in Chicago. Over the years, this multi-institution research team have published more than 150 scientific articles and three textbooks on the topic of electrical injury and have evaluated many electrical shock survivors. Some important discoveries made by this team are that electrical shock injury is mediated by multiple mechanisms including non-thermal electrical forces, which many electrical shock survivors develop neuropsychological problems even if the current never passed through the brain and progressive peripheral pain often adds to the disability.(1,2) However, some electrical shock survivors do not manifest these problems.
Although it is well known that high energy electrical shocks can cause serious injury, the injury details matter when it comes to anticipating the resulting clinical problems. Low energy shocks may result in persistent neuromuscular medical problems also (3,4)
Mission and history[edit]
CETRI's mission is to promote recovery of individuals affected by electric injury while simultaneously advancing the understanding of tissue injury patterns associated with electric shock injuries.(5) Its scientists and clinicians evaluate electrical shock survivors, then communicate with the medical providers in the patients community to optimize rehabilitation. Electrical shock injury is a complex multi-physical trauma that results in a range of clinical manifestations that differ from patient to patient. The explanation for this is one of CETRI's priority research focus areas. CETRI's research is funded by a both federal, private research agencies as well as public foundations. CETRI's publications are highly referenced in the scientific community and by trade magazines [1].
References[edit]
(1) Khor D, AlQasas T, Galet C, et. al.. Electrical injuries and outcomes: A retrospective review. Burns. 2023 Nov;49(7):1739-1744.. PMID: 37005139.
(2) Smith, M. A., Muehlberger, T., & Dellon, L. A. (2002). "Peripheral Nerve Compression Associated with Low-Voltage Electrical Injury without Associated Significant Cutaneous Burn" Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, 109(1), 137-144.
(3) Enoka RM, Amiridis IG, Duchateau J. Electrical Stimulation of Muscle: Electrophysiology and Rehabilitation. Physiology (Bethesda). 2020 Jan 1;35(1):40-56. PMID: 31799910.
(4) Klifto KM, Dellon AL, Hultman CS."Risk Factors Associated with the Progression from Acute to Chronic Neuropathic Pain after Burn-related Injuries" Annals of Plastic Surgery. 2020 Jun 1;84(6S):S382-5.
(5) "Life after Electrical Injury: Risk Factors for Psychiatric Sequelae." Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1999 [2]