Relationship Between Motor Evoked Potential Response and the Severity of Paralysis in Spinal Cord Injury Patients.
10.5535/arm.2017.41.2.211
- Author:
Mi Kyoung OH
1
;
Hye Ri KIM
;
Won Seok KIM
;
Hyung Ik SHIN
Author Information
1. Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
- Publication Type:Original Article
- Keywords:
Motor evoked potentials;
Spinal cord injuries;
Severity;
Paralysis
- MeSH:
Classification;
Disability Evaluation;
Evoked Potentials, Motor*;
Extremities;
Humans;
Lower Extremity;
Paralysis*;
Spinal Cord Injuries*;
Spinal Cord*
- From:Annals of Rehabilitation Medicine
2017;41(2):211-217
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between motor evoked potential (MEP) response and the severity of motor paralysis, evaluated according to the Korean disability evaluation system in patients with spinal cord injury (SCI). METHODS: We analyzed 192 lower limbs of 96 SCI patients. Lower limbs were classified according to their motor scores, as determined by the International Standards for Neurological Classification of Spinal Cord Injury: motor score <10 (group 1); ≥10 and <15 (group 2); ≥15 and <20 (group 3); and ≥20 (group 4). MEP responses were classified as ‘normal’, ‘delayed’ or ‘absent’, based on their onset latency, which was compared between the different motor score groups. RESULTS: MEP responses and limb motor scores were highly correlated (p<0.001). There was a significant difference of MEP responses between the motor score groups (p<0.001). MEP response was markedly poorer in motor group 1 (limb motor score <10) than in the other three groups (p<0.0001). However, there were no differences between the three groups with motor scores of 10 or above. CONCLUSION: Clinical utility of MEP as a complimentary tool to manual muscle tests could be limited to discriminating motor score groups with severe paralysis, i.e., single lower limb motor power grades of 0 or 1, and from grade 2, 3, and 4, or above, in the Korean disability evaluation system.
