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This article describes the symptomatology of three patients following electrical accidents. The flow of the current was from hand to hand, voltage was 220/380 V, and duration was at least a few seconds for all patients. The development of symptoms was the same, and may be explained as a thermal effect of electricity on the tissue. Initially the patients experienced transient confusion, followed by stiff muscles after 1 to 3 days, and then pain in the muscle attachments and joints close to path of the current. This pain increased slowly during the first two weeks. Recovery was gradual, but often incomplete. The case notes showed that electrical accidents may be followed by chronic rotator cuff tendinitis. The clinical examination also revealed a hearing loss at about 2,000 Hz and above 4,000 Hz. The neuropsychological testing indicated a diffuse impaired function in only one patient.

A 26 year old man, who was physically fit and occupationally active but had retinitis pigmentosa and a slight hearing impairment, received hyperbaric oxygen treatment for 97 minutes at a pressure of 240 kPA for five days a week over a period of four weeks. After cessation of the treatment his lateral vision was found to be improved. The patient was examined both prior to and after the hyperbaric oxygen treatment to assess possible adverse effects. The examination consisted of a comprehensive neuropsychological test battery, audiometry and spirometry. The patient showed a reversible reduction in gas diffusion for CO (TLCO). No adverse effects on the central nervous system were found. He achieved higher scores in an intelligence test when retested. The gain was greater than usually found as a practice effect. The article discusses possible indications for hyperbaric oxygen treatment.

All hospitals are obliged to have an index of diagnoses made in the hospital. This file should be the basis for evaluation, planning and research. Our view is that such files are today incomplete and not very fit for above-mentioned purposes. The introduction of EDP in hospitals does not seem to have improved the situation very much. Therefore the hospitals should improve the professional responsibility for these files, in order to obtain complete and correct registration. Administrators and physicians in administrative positions must feel responsible for feed-back of patient data to the different departments for analysis, discussion and evaluation. This will hopefully increase the interest for data and registration, and supply a better medical basis for planning hospital activities.