title: A comparison between electroencephalography and somatosensory evoked potentials for outcome prediction following severe head injury.
abstract: The value of somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs) for the prediction of outcome following severe head injury (HI) is established. The role of the electroencephalogram (EEG) in this setting is uncertain. In this comparative study, SEPs and EEGs were recorded within 3 days of severe HI in 90 patients, and the results related to outcome at 6 months. Patients with an isoelectric EEG or an EEG with repeated isoelectric intervals died. Reactivity of the EEG to external stimulation tended to be associated with favorable outcome. Grading of the EEGs on the basis of frequency composition otherwise provided no prognostic information. The presence of SEP scalp potentials bilaterally predicted favorable outcome, particularly if the central conduction times were normal. Conversely, the absence of one of both scalp potentials was associated with unfavorable outcome. EEGs thus provided useful prognostic information in only a minority of patients. By comparison, SEPs allowed prediction of both favorable and unfavorable outcomes in a much larger number of patients, and were therefore prognostically superior.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Auckland Hospital, New Zealand.
authors.forename: D O
authors.initials: DO
authors.lastname: Hutchinson
authors.forename: R W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Frith
authors.forename: N A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Shaw
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Judson
authors.forename: B R
authors.initials: BR
authors.lastname: Cant
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001921:Brain / Q000503:physiopathology; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002648:Child; D004569:Electroencephalography; D005073:Evoked Potentials, Somatosensory; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis