ISSN:
1432-1238
Keywords:
Head injury
;
Coma
;
Prognosis
;
Evokied and event-related potentials
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Medicine
Notes:
abstract Objective To determine the prognostic value of multimodal evoked potentials (EPs) and eventrelated (ERPs) potentials in coma (Glasgow Coma Score 〈8), after severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). Design Prospective, longitudinal study of neurophysiological responses recorded during traumatic coma. Setting Intensive Care Unit, Frenchay Hospital, Bristol, UK. Participants Fifty-four comatose TBI patients (age range 1–80 years, mean 36.4). Methods Neurophysiological responses were recorded from 11 scalp electrodes with earlobe reference. Conduction times were measured for brainstem auditory, flash visual and somatosensory, shortlatency EPs. Peak latencies and amplituides were determined for long-latency components of visual and auditory ERPs, generated by passive “oddball” paradigms. These neurophysiological and various clinical parameters were correlated with patient outcome using Pearson's coefficient. Main outcome measure Three month Glassgow Outcome Scale (GOS). Results and conclusion Highly significant (P〈0.001) correlations exist between long-latency ERP components and 3-month outcome. Short-latency EPs, brainstem (wave I–V) and somatosensory conduction times, also correlate significantly with the GOS (P〈0.01). Of the clinical measurements, pupillary response patterns, APACHE II and Glasgow Coma Scores (GCS) correlate significantly with outcome, as do the retrospective measures of duration of coma and post-traumatic amnesia (PTA) in survivors. Unfortunately, due to variance of long-latency responses, even in controls, absolute values cannot be relied upon as prognosticators. The presence of “mismatch negativity” predicted the return of consciousness (89.7% sensitivity and 100% specificity) and preceded changes in GCS. Its latency was the single best indicator of 90-day outcome from coma (r=−0.641).
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF01728329
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