The TASERs are coming, the TASERs are coming-conducted electrical weapons: Tools to manage and prevent ED violence?

摘要

During the past few years, awareness regarding the frequency of workplace violence has "come out of the closet." This "outing" has served as a catalyst for research that has explored various attributes of workplace violence, including ED nurses' perceptions that these types of events are "just a part of the job." These perceptions, along with data indicating that emergency departments are more prone to violence compared with other hospital areas, has served as a catalyst to identify evidence-based strategies to de-escalate and promote workplace safety.One method that has been used to manage and prevent violence in the emergency department is the use of conducted electrical weapons (CEWs). Commonly known as "TASERs", which is actually the name of a specific CEW brand these devices emit a high-voltage, low-amplitude electrical current that creates electrical pulses, resulting in neuromuscular incapacitation. Similar to the devices used by the crew of the USS Enterprise during Star Trek missions, the electrical charge emitted from the CEW can have an impact on sensory neurons only or on both sensory and motor neurons. The drive or stun mode of a CEW affects sensory neurons only, causing pain when the device is placed directly on a person. The probe mode uses projectile dartlike technology so the CEW can be used at a distance to transmit the electrical pulses to an individual. These projectile darts have an impact on both sensory and motor neurons, causing neuromuscular incapacitation via the loss of voluntary muscle control.