ABSTRACT
High-voltage electric injuries have many manifestations, and an important complication is the damage of the central/peripheral nervous system. The purpose of this work was to assess the upper limb dysfunction in patients injured by high-voltage current. The evaluation consisted of analysis of patients' records, cutaneous-sensibility threshold, handgrip and pinch strength and a specific questionnaire about upper limb dysfunctions (DASH) in 18 subjects. All subjects were men; the average age at the time of the injury was 38 years. Of these, 72% changed job/retired after the injury. The current entrance was the hand in 94% and grounding in the lower limb in 78%. The average burned surface area (BSA) was 8.6%. The handgrip strength of the injured limb was reduced (p<0.05) and so also that of the three pinch types. The relationship between the handgrip strength and the DASH was statistically significant (p<0.001) as well as the relationship between the three pinch types (pSubject(s)
Burns, Electric/rehabilitation
, Upper Extremity/injuries
, Adult
, Burns, Electric/pathology
, Burns, Electric/physiopathology
, Hand Injuries/etiology
, Hand Injuries/physiopathology
, Hand Injuries/rehabilitation
, Hand Strength
, Humans
, Male
, Middle Aged
, Recovery of Function
, Retrospective Studies
, Skin/innervation
, Touch
, Upper Extremity/physiopathology
, Young Adult