title: Diagnostic value of auditory brainstem responses in cerebellopontine angle tumours.
abstract: CONCLUSIONS
  Auditory brainstem responses (ABRs) associated with other audio-vestibular examinations and a thorough clinical examination should allow detection of the majority of cerebellopontine angle (CPA) lesions (99.2-100%).
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The increasing quality of MRI in the detection of CPA lesions, and the reports of false negative ABRs have raised issues concerning the value of ABR in the diagnosis and preoperative assessment of CPA lesions. The aim of this work was to assess the value of the ABR in the diagnosis of vestibular schwannomas (VS) and other CPA lesions.
  
  
  METHODS
  This retrospective study included 676 solitary VS (548 operated on and 128 followed up) and 70 other CPA tumours (72% meningiomas, 11% cholesteatomas, 3% ependymomas, 15% miscellaneous) managed between 1990 and 2001. All patients underwent clinical examination, audiometry, ABR, vestibular caloric tests and MRI.
  
  
  RESULTS
  ABRs were normal in 4.8% of VS. Association of normal ABR, vestibular caloric tests and audiometry (AAO-HNS class A) represented only 0.7% of VS. In other CPA lesions, ABR were normal in 15% of cases and the association of the three above-mentioned examinations was encountered in 10%. However, in the latter cases the clinical examination showed an abnormality in all cases.
authors.affiliation: Otolaryngology Department, AP-HP, Hôpital Beaujon, Clichy, France. alexis.bozorg-grayeli@bjn.aphp.fr
authors.forename: Alexis
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bozorg Grayeli
authors.forename: Afaf
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Refass
authors.forename: Mustapha
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Smail
authors.forename: Hani
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Elgarem
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kalamarides
authors.forename: Didier
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bouccara
authors.forename: Olivier
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Sterkers
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001299:Audiometry; D002150:Caloric Tests; D002528:Cerebellar Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002530:Cerebellopontine Angle / Q000473:pathology*; D002781:Cholesteatoma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology; D004806:Ependymoma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology; D016057:Evoked Potentials, Auditory, Brain Stem / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008579:Meningioma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009464:Neuroma, Acoustic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D055815:Young Adult