Sympathetic skin response in electrical burn injury

Background: Electrical burn has been reported to be highly associated with peripheral neuropathy. This study was designed to evaluate the sympathetic skin response (SSR) of electrical burn patients to determine whether the sympathetic nervous system is involved in these patients.

Materials and methods: The sympathetic skin response of 28 patients, suffering from electrical burn injury (divided into two groups of high voltage and low voltage exposure) was compared with that of 28 matched subjects, who had never experienced electrical burn. Bilateral palmar and plantar latency and amplitude of SSR were recorded in response to Median and Tibial nerve electrical stimulation.

Results: SSR in all recording sites of the electrical burn patients compared showed significantly more prolonged latencies and reduced amplitudes, with their counterparts in the control group with no significant difference between the high voltage and low voltage electrical burns. There was no significant difference in SSR latency, between the entry and exit sites of the electrical current. The SSR amplitude however, showed more reduction in right hand than the left one, in whom the electrical current had entered the body from the right hand. The time lapse between the electrical burn and the SSR study was shown to play no role in the results.

Discussion: Increased SSR latency in electrical burn injury may be a sign of autonomic nervous system involvement, through systemic responses to electrical burn.