Somatosensory evoked potentials after posterior tibial nerve stimulation--normative data in children.
We report normative data of somatosensory evoked potentials to posterior tibial nerve stimulation from 47 children 4-15 years of age. We recorded near-field potentials from the peripheral nerve, the cauda equina, the lumbar spinal cord and the somatosensory cortex. Far-field potentials were recorded from the scalp electrodes with a reference at Erb's point and on the earlobe. The near-field potentials N8 (peripheral nerve) and P40 (cortex) were present in all children. N20 (near-field from the cauda equina) was recorded in 38 subjects. N22 (near-field from the lumbar spinal cord), P30 and N37 ( both far-field waveforms probably generated in the brainstem) were recorded in 46 subjects each. The latencies and the peripheral conduction time (N8-N22) increased with age, while the central conduction time (N22-P40) and the intracranial conduction time (P30-P40) both decreased with age (up to about 10 years of age). The spinal conduction time (N22-P30) was relatively independent of age. The interpeak latencies allow the assessment of specific portions of this pathway. The subcortical posterior tibial nerve-somatosensory evoked potentials are of particular interest in children when the cortical peaks are influenced by sedation and sleep, or by anaesthesia.
Boor
R
R
University Children's Hospital, Johannes-Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany.
Goebel
B
B
Doepp
M
M
Taylor
M J
MJ
D000293:Adolescent; D001933:Brain Stem / Q000502:physiology; D002420:Cauda Equina / Q000502:physiology; D002648:Child; D005073:Evoked Potentials, Somatosensory / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009431:Neural Conduction / Q000502:physiology; D012890:Sleep / Q000502:physiology; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000502:physiology; D013979:Tibial Nerve / Q000502:physiology*; D013997:Time Factors