Peripheral nerve injury and Raynaud's syndrome following electric shock

A truck driver was injured by a high-voltage line of 10,000 volts when holding a metallic bar in both hands. Initially no neurological abnormalities were found, but during the following few weeks increasing sensory and minor motor symptoms developed in the right upper extremity. After one year numbness of the right thigh and leg appeared, as well as attacks of white finger in both hands. Repeated examinations showed progressive abnormalities of the median and ulnar nerves in both hands. No other cause for Raynaud's syndrome was discovered. The late high-voltage effects, presumably indirect, are suggested to be of multifactorial etiology.