ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses the constellation of symptoms and signs that may be seen in the lightning-injured patient. Initially, a survey will place the features in perspective, and this will be followed by a systematic examination of symptoms and signs. Lightning injury can produce an enormous spectrum of clinical symptoms and signs ranging from the common to the rare. The authors present symptoms and signs of lightning injury considered by bodily system. One thing will become apparent as they proceed, and that is the variability of presentations seen. The majority of victims of lightning injury who regain consciousness are left with no long-term neurological sequelae, but temporary or permanent neurological disorders may occur, decerebrate rigidity, aphasia and headache. The diagnosis of lightning injury is sometimes difficult to make. Often there is a history of a thunderstorm, witnesses who can report having seen the strike, and typical physical findings in the victim.
