Diffuse electrical injury: a study of sequelae as a function of gender

Diffuse electrical injury (DEI) is a rarely occurring class of electrical injury that can arise even after a low voltage contact. It is characterized by broad symptomatology which is often disproportionate to the magnitude of the contact. The occurrence rate of 65 symptoms, categorized by gender, was studied. Data was derived from a Web-based interactive survey of individuals who suffered low voltage (<1000 volts) contacts and were more than six months post incident. Statistically significant differences (based on a Chi Squared test) among gender were noted for unexplained moodiness and short-term memory loss. For the majority of symptoms, no significant difference between the groups was revealed (P<0.05). Results suggest that although male and female DEI patients present with a similar symptom profile, DEI may present with certain differences in men compared to women.