{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,16]],"date-time":"2026-07-16T20:11:09Z","timestamp":1784232669798,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":33,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"14","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,14]],"date-time":"2025-07-14T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1752451200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["JCM"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: High-voltage electrical injuries (HVEIs) represent a complex and life-threatening entity, frequently involving multi-organ damage. While traditionally linked to occupational hazards, train surfing\u2014riding on moving trains\u2014and train climbing\u2014scaling stationary carriages\u2014have emerged as increasingly common causes among adolescents. Popularized via social media, these behaviors expose individuals to the invisible danger of electric arcs from 15,000-volt railway lines, often resulting in extensive burns, cardiac complications, and severe trauma. This study presents a 30-year retrospective analysis comparing cardiac biomarkers and clinical outcomes in train-surfing injuries versus work-related HVEIs. Methods: All patients with confirmed high-voltage injury (\u22651000 volts) admitted to a Level 1 burn center between 1994 and 2024 were retrospectively analyzed. Exclusion criteria comprised low-voltage trauma, suicide, incomplete records, and external treatment. Clinical and laboratory parameters\u2014including total body surface area (TBSA), Abbreviated Burn Severity Index (ABSI), electrocardiogram (ECG) findings, intensive care unit (ICU) and hospital stay, mortality, and cardiac biomarkers (creatine kinase [CK], CK-MB, lactate dehydrogenase [LDH], aspartate transaminase [AST], troponin, and myoglobin)\u2014were compared between the two cohorts. Results: Of 81 patients, 24 sustained train-surfing injuries and 57 were injured in occupational settings. Train surfers were significantly younger (mean 16.7 vs. 35.2 years, p = 0.008), presented with greater TBSA (49.9% vs. 17.9%, p = 0.008), higher ABSI scores (7.3 vs. 5.1, p = 0.008), longer ICU stays (53 vs. 17 days, p = 0.008), and higher mortality (20.8% vs. 3.5%). ECG abnormalities were observed in 51% of all cases, without significant group differences. However, all cardiac biomarkers were significantly elevated in train-surfing injuries at both 72 h and 10 days post-injury (p &lt; 0.05), suggesting more pronounced cardiac and muscular damage. Conclusions: Train-surfing-related high-voltage injuries are associated with markedly more severe systemic and cardiac complications than occupational HVEIs. The significant biomarker elevation and critical care demands highlight the urgent need for targeted prevention, public awareness, and early cardiac monitoring in this high-risk adolescent population.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/jcm14144969","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,14]],"date-time":"2025-07-14T10:55:41Z","timestamp":1752490541000},"page":"4969","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["High Voltage and Train-Surfing Injuries: A 30-Year Retrospective Analysis of High-Voltage Trauma and Its Impact on Cardiac Biomarkers"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0006-9237-0683","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Viktoria","family":"Koenig","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Plastic, Aesthetic and Reconstructive Surgery, Medical University of Vienna, Waehringer Guertel 18\u201320, 1090 Vienna, Austria"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Maximilian","family":"Monai","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Plastic, Aesthetic and Reconstructive Surgery, Medical University of Vienna, Waehringer Guertel 18\u201320, 1090 Vienna, Austria"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Alexandra","family":"Christ","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Plastic, Aesthetic and Reconstructive Surgery, Medical University of Vienna, Waehringer Guertel 18\u201320, 1090 Vienna, Austria"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8568-4194","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Marita","family":"Windpassinger","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, Division of General Anesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine, Medical University Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Gerald C.","family":"Ihra","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, Division of General Anesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine, Medical University Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Alexandra","family":"Fochtmann-Frana","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Plastic, Aesthetic and Reconstructive Surgery, Medical University of Vienna, Waehringer Guertel 18\u201320, 1090 Vienna, Austria"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Julian","family":"Joestl","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Private Clinic, Spitalgasse 19, 1090 Vienna, Austria"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,14]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"570","DOI":"10.1007\/s00508-024-02399-1","article-title":"Train Climbing-A new old trend in adolescents: Treatment of high voltage injuries and planning of a pilot project to raise awareness","volume":"136","author":"Koenig","year":"2024","journal-title":"Wien. 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