Citation

Kleiter I, Luerding R, Diendorfer G, Rek H, Bogdahn U, Schalke B. J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatry 2007; 78(4): 423-426.

Affiliation

Department of Neurology, University of Regensburg, Universitätsstr 84, 93042 Regensburg, Germany. ingo.kleiter@klinik.uni-regensburg.de

Copyright

(Copyright © 2007, BMJ Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1136/jnnp.2006.097642

PMID

17369595

PMCID

PMC2077776

Abstract

The case of a 23-year-old mountaineer who was hit by a lightning strike to the occiput causing a large central visual field defect and bilateral tympanic membrane ruptures is described. Owing to extreme agitation, the patient was set to a drug-induced coma for 3 days. After extubation, she experienced simple and complex visual hallucinations for several days, but otherwise recovered largely. Neuropsychological tests revealed deficits in fast visual detection tasks and non-verbal learning, and indicated a right temporal lobe dysfunction, consistent with a right temporal focus on electroencephalography. Four months after the accident, she developed a psychological reaction consisting of nightmares with reappearance of the complex visual hallucinations and a depressive syndrome. Using the European Cooperation for Lightning Detection network, a meteorological system for lightning surveillance, the exact geographical location and nature of the lightning flash were retrospectively retraced.

Language: en