Lightning burn – Review and case report

Abstract

Lightning is an electrical discharge produced by the contact of rain clouds or between clouds and the Earth. The concentration of a negative electrical charge in the cloud reaches a threshold and produces an electrical field with the positive charges of the ground and undergoes an ionization process through shock between the particles. At this moment, an electrical circuit is produced between the cloud and the ground, dissipating toward the ground, a descending precursor, or eventually, from the ground to the cloud, an ascending precursor. The attraction intensifies and the air cannot isolate them any further, and an average discharge of 10–80 kA occurs. The estimated diameter of the lightning’s channel discharge is from 2 to 5 cm, and is capable of heating the air in up to 30,000 8C. The current is unidirectional and of a negative polarity [1,2]. Lightning reaches the Earth in more than 100 times per second or 8 million times a day [3]. The chance of being struck by lightning depends on populational density and landscape features, which may either protect or expose people to being hit. Global mortality due to lightning is estimated at 0.2–1.7 deaths per 1 million [4,5]. Approximately 10–30% of patients struck by lightning die, and 74% of survivors present some permanent sequel [6]. According to the National Space Research Institute, Brazil has one of the highest incidences