Late onset quadriparesis in high voltage electrical burn – A case report

Abstract

Electrical burn injuries are injuries that can be of high or low voltage and result in variety of injuries ranging from skin burns to damage to internal organs including neurologic complications. Tissue damage can result directly from the current passing through the body or conversion of the electrical energy to heat energy as it is met with various levels of resistance within the different tissues in the body. Neurologic complications can be of early or late onset in electrical injuries and show variable levels of recovery over long period of time. We have presented here a patient that sustained high voltage electrical burn and developed late onset quadriparesis that significantly improved within a period of one week following the initiation of dexamethasone. Multidisciplinary approach and long term follow up of such patients is necessary to achieve best possible outcome

Keywords

• Burn
• Electrical injuries
• Neurologic symptoms
• Quadriparesis