Evoked responses after head trauma.
A neurological examination, routine EEG and a battery of evoked responses (i. e. to a flash, to a checkerboard pattern, to three different tones and to the electrical stimulation of the median nerves) were performed in 14 patients within 24 hours, after one month, six months and a year after head trauma. The results have shown a significant correlation between the number of low R values in the first study and both severeness of the trauma and the clinical evolution a year later. ERs appeared to be - unlike the native EEG - a powerful measure for recommending prophylactic treatment in those traumas which are generally considered to produce slight brain damage, but may provoke a post-traumatic epilepsy and/or great memory deficits. This correlation also shows that bad prognosis may be anticipated in cases with widespread ERs' abnormalities.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000175:diagnosis*; D002648:Child; D004569:Electroencephalography; D005071:Evoked Potentials; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male