Brainstem auditory evoked potentials in patients with cervical spine injury
Objective. Neurophysiological assessment of brainstem structures in patients with cervical spine injury using short latency auditory evoked potentials (SLAEP). Material and Methods. Study group included 48 patients aged 18 to 50 years with early and intermediate periods of cervical spine injury. Patients were grouped according to anatomic features of the cervical spine, which determine peculiarities of injury and its effect on the spinal cord. Results. Changes in SLAEP were observed in 14 patients (87.5 %) with injury to craniovertebral junction. Brainstem structures were involved in 7 (38.8 %) patients with uncomplicated injury of the lower cervical spine. Patients with complicated injury of the cervical spine had SLAEP abnormalities in 100 % of cases including elongation of latencies and interpeak intervals, distortion of peak-to-peak amplitude ratios, and peak deformations and asymmetries. Conclusion. Complicated and uncomplicated cervical spine injuries are characterized by signs of dysfunction of brainstem structures, predominantly at pontomedullar and pontomes-encephal levels. It was found that degree of SLAEP changes depends on severity of the cervical spine injury.