title: Prognosis in prolonged coma patients with diffuse axonal injury assessed by somatosensory evoked potentia.
abstract: A total of 43 prolonged coma patients with diffuse axonal injury received the somatosensory evoked potential examination one month after injury in the First Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University in China. Somatosensory evoked potentials were graded as normal, abnormal or absent (grades I-III) according to N20 amplitude and central conduction time. The outcome in patients with grade III somatosensory evoked potential was in each case unfavorable. The prognostic accuracy of grade III somatosensory evoked potential for unfavorable and non-awakening outcome was 100% and 80%, respectively. The prognostic accuracy of grade I somatosensory evoked potential for favorable and wakening outcome was 86% and 100%, respectively. These results suggest that somatosensory evoked potential grade is closely correlated with coma severity and degree of recovery. Somatosensory evoked potential is a valuable diagnostic tool to assess prognosis in prolonged coma patients with diffuse axonal injury.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, First Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310003, Zhejiang Province, China.
authors.forename: Xiujue
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, First Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310003, Zhejiang Province, China.
authors.forename: Mantao
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Hangzhou Hospital of Zhejiang Armed Police Corps, Hangzhou 310018, Zhejiang Province, China.
authors.forename: Jingqi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, First Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310003, Zhejiang Province, China.
authors.forename: Fei
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cao
keywords: awakening; brain injury; coma; diffuse axonal injury; grants-supported paper; nerve electrophysiology; neural regeneration; neuroregeneration; prognosis; somatosensory evoked potential