title: Predicting post-electrical injury autonomic dysfunction symptom occurrence by a simple test.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Sensory, motor, and autonomic neuropathy has been reported after electrical injury. Besides subclinical involvement of the sympathetic nervous system during the 1st year post injury, late clinical manifestations of this involvement have been reported sporadically. This study was designed to investigate how the clinical and electrodiagnostic manifestations of sympathetic involvement would change with time in electricity victims.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sixty electrically burnt patients were followed for 22 months with sympathetic skin response (SSR) and autonomic system derangement symptom surveillance.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Thirty-one patients reported autonomic derangement symptoms during the 2nd year post injury. SSR latency prolongation showed direct negative correlation with time; but SSR amplitude was decreased in all cases irrespective of the time laps. Symptomatic patients showed significantly lower SSR amplitudes compared to asymptomatic ones. This was true for the pre-symptom SSR test results too.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  SSR amplitude can be used as a predictive test for the symptoms of autonomic derangement to occur post electrical injury.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, International Branch, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
authors.forename: Sharareh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Roshanzamir
authors.affiliation: Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences, Shahrekord, Iran. Electronic address: dabbaghmanesh.alireza@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Alireza
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dabbaghmanesh
authors.affiliation: Burn Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
authors.forename: Alireza
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ashraf
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001342:Autonomic Nervous System Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D002058:Burns, Electric / Q000150:complications*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D018450:Disease Progression; D007172:Erectile Dysfunction / Q000209:etiology; D005712:Galvanic Skin Response; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D054971:Orthostatic Intolerance / Q000209:etiology; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013610:Tachycardia / Q000209:etiology
keywords: Autonomic derangement symptoms; Electrical burn injury; Sympathetic skin response