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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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