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Since June 2001, more than 70 people have died in police custody in the United States and in Canada after being struck with Taser"s. For this particular reason subjects that have been Taser"ed should be closely watched for adverse effects and life-threatening injuries.
A review of clinical studies on electrical weapons such as the Taser" found no evidence that they cause dangerous laboratory abnormalities, physiologic changes, or immediate or delayed cardiac ischemia or arrhythmias, when the exposure is 15 seconds or less. [1]
However, in some circumstances fatal arrhythmias have been reported. There are some special cases that EMS providers should be aware of:
- The elderly " if a patient has a pacemaker and/or internal defibrillation unit the patient should be taken to the emergency room to have an EKG and/or 12 lead EKG to ensure that the internal units have not been affected. According to Taser" the joules utilized by the Taser" operate well below the level to have any effect on either unit. [5]
- Pregnant patients " any patient that reveals or expresses to the EMS provider that they are pregnant or maybe pregnant should be evaluated in the emergency room
- Minors - Any individual that could be considered a minor by state statue should be evaluated in the emergency room
- Polysubstance Abuse " Subjects who were under the influence of alcohol, cocaine, methamphetamine, phencyclidine (PCP) or other stimulants may have an increased risk of cardiac arrhythmia
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