Tuyển tập các báo cáo nghiên cứu về hóa học được đăng trên tạp chí hóa hoc quốc tế đề tài : A case of a speech impediment following a near lightning strike | Desai and Fairclough International Journal of Emergency Medicine 2011 4 60 http content 4 1 60 o International Journal of Emergency Medicine a SpringerOpen Journal CASE REPORT Open Access A case of a speech impediment following a near lightning strike Bobby K Desai and Rita Fairclough Abstract Environmental electrical injuries electrical burns and lightning are relatively common and are estimated to result in more than 3 000 admissions to specialized burn units each year here in the US. Lightning injuries are a small subset of electrical injuries and are responsible for an average of 300 injuries and 100 deaths per year in the US. We present a case of a rare injury obtained as a result of a near lightning strike. The case involved a young female who was playing soccer when lightning struck within several feet of where she was standing resulting in loss of consciousness paresthesias tinnitus muscle spasms and most importantly a new onset of a speech impediment. There is only one reported case of a speech impediment secondary to an electrical injury in the literature. Introduction Lightning injuries are responsible for an average of 300 injuries and 100 deaths per year 1 . Approximately 30 percent of patients that are struck die and up to 73 percent of patients that survive may have permanent disabilities 2 . Deaths can occur within 1 h of injury in the majority of cases and are secondary to fatal arrhythmias or respiratory failure. Seventy-four percent of survivors experience permanent injury and sequelae as indicated by some reports 3 . More than one half of the fatalities occur while people are involved in outdoor activities and another 25 percent occur during work-related activities. Between the years of 1980 and 1996 the Centers for Disease Control reported 1 318 patients killed by lightning strikes of which 85 percent were male. Within the United States the areas with the greatest number of deaths secondary to lightning were Florida and Texas and
