Changes of evoked potentials and evaluation of mild hypothermia for treatment of severe brain injury
- Author:
Yi YAN
1
;
Wenyuan TANG
Author Information
1. the First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Universit y of Medical Sciences
- From:
Chinese Journal of Traumatology
2001;4(1):8-13
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
Objective: To observe the changes of evoked pote ntials after severe brain injury and the effect of mild hypothermia on acute sev ere brain injury. Methods: A total of 44 patients with severe closed head injury (GCS 3-8, admitted within 10 hours from injury) admitted from May 1998 to March 1999 were selected for this study. All patients were admitted into the intensiv e care unit and divided into 2 groups, Group A (GCS 3-5) and Group B (GCS 6 -8). Patients were also randomly assigned to either normothermia or hypothermia subgroups. Patients in the hypothermia group were cooled to 32-34℃. Median nerve short-latency somatosensory evoked potentials (SLSEP) and brain stem aud itory evoked potentials (BAEP) were recorded before cooling and 4, 24, 48, 72, 9 6 and 120 hours, respectively after cooling and temperature resuming. SLSEP and BAEP were measured at the same time in the normothermia group (control group). T he changes of evoked potentials (EP) were analyzed by statistical methods. Results: In the Group B, N20 amplitudes in SLSEP and I/V amplitudes in BAEP after mild hypothermia treatment in the hypothermia group dif fered significantly from those in the control group (P<0.05). However, in the Group A, no significant difference in all paramet ers was found. Conclusions: These results demonstrate that mild hypothermia tr eatment (32-34℃) in the Group B has a significant neuroelectrophysiological effect on severe brain injury. Nevertheless, the effect of mild hypothermia in t he Group A is not apparent and needs further studying.
