title: ["Prolonged" decay test and auditory brainstem responses in the clinical diagnosis of the chronic fatigue syndrome].
abstract: The chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) was formally defined to describe disabling fatigue of unknown etiology with immunologic disfunctions. In most cases occur abnormalities of neurophysiological tests. In this paper the Authors use the low (11 pps) and high (51-71 pps) frequency ABR for detecting the electrophysiological function of auditory brainstem responses and propose the "Prolonged Decay Test", a modified impedenzometric technique that explores any alterations of the stapedial contraction, as a new diagnostic test for CFS. Twenty-one patients with suspected CFS, with an age between 17 and 50 years, were examined and the instrumental data were correlated with the clinical findings. The results of the ABR study showed in the examined subjects no many abnormalities in the 11 pps frequency test. The high frequency stimulation trials (with 51 and 71 pps) proved many alterations in 10 patients (absence of the first wave in 6 cases, in 5 many wave latency delay and in 1 patient absence of the first wave and many wave latency delay). The high frequency trials showed no abnormalities in the 11 remaining patients. The clinical-audiological correlation showed a 61.9% of comparison with 33.3% of false negatives and 4.8% of false positives. The Prolonged Decay Test showed a 71.4% of clinical-audiological comparison with 23.8% of false negatives and 4.8% of false positives. The Prolonged Decay Test together with the ABR showed a 81.8% of clinical-audiological comparison with 18.2% of false negatives and 0% of false positives. These preliminary data show that the stapedial reflex together with the ABR test could be useful for the diagnosis of CFS.
authors.affiliation: Clinica Otorinolaringoiatrica, Università G. d'Annunzio di Chieti.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Neri
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bianchedi
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Croce
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Moretti
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D016057:Evoked Potentials, Auditory, Brain Stem; D015673:Fatigue Syndrome, Chronic / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged
vernacular_title: Decay test "prolungato" e ABR per la diagnosi di sindrome da fatica cronica: confronto tra le metodiche.