• Injury · Sep 2024

    A novel causative factor of injury: Severe burns related to fires and explosions of lithium-ion batteries of electric motorcycles.

    • Xiao-Hua Hu, Lu Yu, Zhong Chen, Bin Yu, Cai-Hong Ma, Yu-Sen Hou, Yun-Gang Hu, Peng-Liang Zhao, Jie-Fei Zheng, Xiao-Cheng Zhao, Lin Cheng, Hui-Jun Zhang, Ming Li, Kai Yin, Qiang Dai, Tong-Yu Cao, Wei-Li Du, and Yu-Ming Shen.
    • Department of Burns and Plastic Surgery, Beijing Jishuitan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100035, PR China.
    • Injury. 2024 Sep 1; 55 (9): 111724111724.

    AbstractSevere burns related to fires and explosions of lithium-ion batteries of electric motorcycles have not been reported to date. We retrospectively studied 419 patients admitted to our burn intensive care unit from January 2016 to December 2021. Of these 419 patients, 26 (22 male, 4 female; median age, 42 years) had burns related to lithium-ion battery fires and explosions, and all of their injury characteristics were similar to those of traditional flame burns. Lithium-ion battery-related burns were the eighth most common cause of burn injuries among all hospitalized patients. The 26 patients comprised 10 unemployed and 16 employed individuals. Twenty-three patients were injured at home during the battery charging process, and three were injured outdoors (one by a fire while the electric motorcycle was stationary and the others two by a fire while riding the motorcycle). The burn sites were distributed over the whole body; the burn area ranged from 10 % to 100 % of the total body surface area, and the burn depth ranged from superficial second-degree burns to third-degree burns. Twenty-three patients had inhalation injuries, and ten underwent prophylactic tracheostomy and intubation. Multiple operations were required for wound repair. Although convenient, lithium-ion electric motorcycles can also cause severe burns. To prevent these injuries, we must increase public safety awareness and education, develop new battery energy storage systems and battery management systems, and ensure the safety of batteries. Consumers should be aware of the potential dangers of lithium-ion batteries and comply with related security measures.Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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