The neurophysiological aspects of electrical injuries.

Abstract

Neurologic and psychologic studies were done on 16 victims of alternate current electrical injuries. The patients were followed for a period of over 5 years. The findings point to a stereotyped generalized cerebral dysfunction, resulting in depression, divorce, unemployment as well as a high incidence of atypical seizures (atonic and myoclonic seizures). The EEG and CT studies were nondiagnostic. Evoked potentials revealed abnormalities in the upper cervical spinal cord and lower brain stem regions, raising the possibility that the epileptogenic focus was too deep to be recorded by standard surface EEG recording. The fact that the electrical injury patients have a high incidence of severe emotional disturbance and post-traumatic depression along with atypical seizures, in the face of nondiagnostic EEG and CT studies, may result in improper management of such patients.