A lightning strike to the head causing a visual cortex defect with simple and complex visual hallucinations.
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.
Kleiter
Ingo
I
Department of Neurology, University of Regensburg, Universitätsstr 84, 93042 Regensburg, Germany. ingo.kleiter@klinik.uni-regensburg.de
Luerding
Ralf
R
Diendorfer
Gerhard
G
Rek
Helga
H
Bogdahn
Ulrich
U
Schalke
Berthold
B
D000328:Adult; D003863:Depression / Q000209:etiology; D004325:Dreams; D005260:Female; D006212:Hallucinations / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D007859:Learning Disabilities / Q000209:etiology; D015168:Lightning Injuries / Q000150:complications*; D009051:Mountaineering; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000293:injuries; D013997:Time Factors; D018058:Tympanic Membrane Perforation / Q000209:etiology; D014786:Vision Disorders / Q000209:etiology; D014793:Visual Cortex / Q000293:injuries*