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Case Reports
. 2016 Jun;27(2):287-90.
doi: 10.1016/j.wem.2016.02.006. Epub 2016 Apr 23.

Lightning Strike in Pregnancy With Fetal Injury

Kellen Galster  1 , Ryan Hodnick  2 , Ross P Berkeley  1
Affiliations
Case Reports

Lightning Strike in Pregnancy With Fetal Injury

Kellen Galster et al. Wilderness Environ Med. 2016 Jun.

Abstract

Injuries from lightning strikes are an infrequent occurrence, and are only rarely noted to involve pregnant victims. Only 13 cases of lightning strike in pregnancy have been previously described in the medical literature, along with 7 additional cases discovered within news media reports. This case report presents a novel case of lightning-associated injury in a patient in the third trimester of pregnancy, resulting in fetal ischemic brain injury and long-term morbidity, and reviews the mechanics of lightning strikes along with common injury patterns of which emergency providers should be aware.

Keywords: electrical injury; fetal injury; lightning injury; lightning strike; pregnancy; third-trimester injury.

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