JOURNAL ARTICLE
RESEARCH SUPPORT, NON-U.S. GOV'T
RESEARCH SUPPORT, U.S. GOV'T, P.H.S.
Add like
Add dislike
Add to saved papers

Neurologic and neurobehavioral effects of electric and lightning injuries.

There are few studies of the effects of electric and lightning injuries (ELI) on the neurologic and neuropsychological status of injured patients. We reviewed records of fourteen patients with ELI injuries seen at our hospital (12 with high-voltage electric and two with lightning injury). Eight had cardiac arrest after injury, and 10 had neurologic complaints when first evaluated. Eight had normal neuroimaging results. Six had electroencephalograms; four showed abnormal results. Thirteen underwent neuropsychological testing. Twelve (92%) showed cognitive dysfunction including impairments in memory, attention, and affective disturbances (anxiety, depression, irritability, and poor frustration tolerance). Five of 12 (62%) had multiple physically aggressive outbursts, not present before the injury. Patients with cardiac arrest did not differ in neurologic psychologic testing from patients not sustaining cardiac arrest. Patients with ELI who had neurobehavioral symptoms had a coherent syndrome characterized by disturbances in cognition (attention and memory), mood (distress with prominent irritability), and behavior (aggressive outbursts). Serial neurologic and neuropsychological evaluations will aid in better defining the sequelae of ELI.

Full text links

We have located links that may give you full text access.
Can't access the paper?
Try logging in through your university/institutional subscription. For a smoother one-click institutional access experience, please use our mobile app.

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app

Mobile app image

Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app

All material on this website is protected by copyright, Copyright © 1994-2024 by WebMD LLC.
This website also contains material copyrighted by 3rd parties.

By using this service, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy.

Your Privacy Choices Toggle icon

You can now claim free CME credits for this literature searchClaim now

Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app