RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Generalized tonic-clonic seizure after a taser shot to the head
JF Canadian Medical Association Journal
JO CMAJ
FD Canadian Medical Association
SP 625
OP 626
DO 10.1503/cmaj.081364
VO 180
IS 6
A1 Esther T. Bui
A1 Myra Sourkes
A1 Richard Wennberg
YR 2009
UL http://www.cmaj.ca/content/180/6/625.abstract
AB During a police chase on foot, a previously well police officer was hit mistakenly by a taser shot meant for the suspect. The taser gun had been fired once, sending 2 barbed darts into his upper back and occiput. Within seconds, the officer collapsed and experienced a generalized tonic-clonic seizure with loss of consciousness and postictal confusion. Subsequent magnetic resonance imaging scans of the head and electroencephalograms were normal. The patient has experienced no recurrence of seizure over more than a year of follow-up. This report shows that a taser shot to the head may result in a brain-specific complication such as generalized tonic-clonic seizure. It also suggests that seizure should be considered an adverse event related to taser use.