Citation

Sloane CM, Chan TC, Levine SD, Dunford JV, Neuman T, Vilke GM. J. Emerg. Med. 2008; 35(1): 29-32.

Affiliation

Department of Emergency Medicine, University of California, San Diego Medical Center, San Diego, California 92103-8676, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2008, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.jemermed.2007.08.073

PMID

18296010

Abstract

The Taser is a high-voltage, low-amperage conducted energy device used by many law enforcement agencies as a less lethal force weapon. The objective of this study was to evaluate for a rise in serum troponin I level after deployment of the Taser on law enforcement training volunteers. A prospective, observational cohort study was performed evaluating serum troponin I levels in human subjects 6 h after an exposure to the Taser X-26. Outcome measures included abnormal elevation in serum troponin I level (> 0.2 ng/mL). There were 66 subjects evaluated. The mean shock duration was 4.36 s (range 1.2-5 s). None of the subjects had a positive troponin I level 6 h after exposure. It was concluded that human volunteers exposed to a single shock from the Taser did not develop an abnormal serum troponin I level 6 h after shock, suggesting that there was no myocardial necrosis or infarction.

Language: en