Auditory brain-stem and middle- and long-latency evoked potentials in coma
C. Rosenberg, K. Wogensen and A. Starr
Twenty-five patients in coma, each with a Glasgow Coma Scale measure less
than or equal to five, were studied within the first three days of
hospitalization with auditory brain-stem and middle- and long-latency
evoked potentials. Survival was related to the simultaneous preservation of
long- and middle-latency and brain-stem evoked potentials. The preservation
of just middle-latency and/or brain-stem components did not correlate with
survival. However, if the group of patients in coma due to head trauma was
analyzed separately, survival could be related to the results of the
brain-stem evoked potentials. There was no relationship between survival
and the results of the initial clinical neurological examination. In
patients who survived, there was no pattern of evoked potential
preservation that related to the quality of survival.
