Relationship between evoked potentials and clinical status in spinal cord ischemia.
METHODS
Sciatic neurogenic motor-evoked potentials, spinal evoked potentials, and somatosensory-evoked potentials were recorded in 12 anesthetized dogs that had arterial ischemia of the lumbar cord produced by ligation of segmental arteries. The presence or absence of the above-mentioned potentials was compared with the clinical status of repeated wake-up tests.


RESULTS
Although these results were complicated, sciatic neurogenic motor-evoked potential was more sensitive to the spinal cord ischemia and was a better predictor of clinical outcome than spinal evoked potential and somatosensory-evoked potential. However, the presence was not a guarantee of normal function. The initial morphologic change of these potentials secondary to ischemia consisted of a decrease in amplitude and in the number of peaks without a shift of latency.


CONCLUSIONS
The present study suggests that the peripheral neurogenic motor-evoked potential is a better warning system for spinal cord ischemia and that its adoption may contribute to the prevention of cord ischemia during spinal surgery, whereas somatosensory-evoked potential and spinal evoked potential cannot be indices.
Kai
Y
Y
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Fukuoka City Hospital, Japan.
Owen
J H
JH
Allen
B T
BT
Dobras
M
M
Davis
C
C
D000818:Animals; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004285:Dogs; D005071:Evoked Potentials / Q000502:physiology*; D005073:Evoked Potentials, Somatosensory / Q000502:physiology; D007511:Ischemia / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008026:Ligation; D012584:Sciatic Nerve / Q000503:physiopathology; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000098:blood supply*; D013127:Spinal Nerves / Q000503:physiopathology; D014711:Vertebral Artery / Q000601:surgery