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Neuropsychological changes following electrical injury

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 January 2006

NEIL H. PLISKIN ,
ALIA N. AMMAR ,
JOSEPH W. FINK ,
S. KRISTIAN HILL ,
AARON C. MALINA ,
ALONA RAMATI ,
KATHLEEN M. KELLEY  and
RAPHAEL C. LEE
NEIL H. PLISKIN
Affiliation:
Chicago Electrical Trauma Research Program, University of Illinois College of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois
ALIA N. AMMAR
Affiliation:
Chicago Electrical Trauma Research Program, University of Illinois College of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois
JOSEPH W. FINK
Affiliation:
University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois
S. KRISTIAN HILL
Affiliation:
Chicago Electrical Trauma Research Program, University of Illinois College of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois
AARON C. MALINA
Affiliation:
Evanston Northwestern Health Care System, Chicago, Illinois
ALONA RAMATI
Affiliation:
Chicago Electrical Trauma Research Program, University of Illinois College of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois
KATHLEEN M. KELLEY
Affiliation:
Chicago Electrical Trauma Research Program, University of Illinois College of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois
RAPHAEL C. LEE
Affiliation:
University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois
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Abstract

The clinical presentation of electrical injury commonly involves physical, cognitive, and emotional complaints. Neuropsychological studies, including case reports, have indicated that electrical injury (EI) survivors may experience a broad range of impaired neuropsychological functions, although this has not been clarified through controlled investigation. In this study, we describe the neuropsychological test findings in a series of 29 EI patients carefully screened and matched to a group of 29 demographically similar healthy electricians. Participants were matched by their estimated premorbid intellectual ability. Multivariate analysis of variance was used to assess group differences in the following neuropsychological domains: attention and mental speed, working memory, verbal memory, visual memory, and motor skills. EI patients performed significantly worse on composite measures of attention/mental speed and motor skills, which could not be explained by demographic differences, injury parameters, litigation status, or mood disturbance. Results suggest that cognitive changes do occur in patients suffering from electrical injury. (JINS, 2006, 12, 17–23.)

Keywords

Electric shockCognitivePsychiatricAssessmentTraumaLitigation
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society , Volume 12 , Issue 1 , January 2006 , pp. 17 - 23
Copyright
© 2006 The International Neuropsychological Society

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