%0 Journal Article
%T A case of a speech impediment following a near lightning strike
%A Bobby K Desai
%A Rita Fairclough
%J International Journal of Emergency Medicine
%D 2011
%I BioMed Central
%R 10.1186/1865-1380-4-60
%X Lightning injuries are responsible for an average of 300 injuries and 100 deaths per year [1]. Approximately 30 percent of patients that are struck die and up to 73 percent of patients that survive may have permanent disabilities [2]. Deaths can occur within 1 h of injury in the majority of cases, and are secondary to fatal arrhythmias or respiratory failure. Seventy-four percent of survivors experience permanent injury and sequelae as indicated by some reports [3].More than one half of the fatalities occur while people are involved in outdoor activities, and another 25 percent occur during work-related activities.Between the years of 1980 and 1996 the Centers for Disease Control reported 1,318 patients killed by lightning strikes, of which 85 percent were male. Within the United States, the areas with the greatest number of deaths secondary to lightning were Florida and Texas, and the states with the highest incidence of strikes were New Mexico, Arizona, Arkansas and Mississippi.Injuries due to electricity occur by three mechanisms: Direct effect of current on body tissues; conversion of electrical energy to thermal injury resulting in burns; and blunt mechanical injury from lightning strike, muscle contraction or complication of a fall afterwards.The clinical manifestations of lightning injuries range from mild burns to severe multiorgan dysfunction and death. We present a case of a young female who was knocked unconscious after a near lightning strike and who sustained subsequent speech impediment, loss of consciousness, muscle spasms and paresthesias.A 28-year-old female presented to the Emergency Department via EMS at 4 p.m. in the afternoon with the chief complaint of a near lightning strike. The patient was outdoors at a field playing Frisbee when lightning struck a nearby tree that was very close to the patient. As per witnesses the patient was thrown back with positive loss of consciousness. When she awoke she complained of a heavy tongue, speech difficulty
%U http://www.intjem.com/content/4/1/60