The role of early electroclinical assessment in improving the evaluation of patients with disorders of consciousness.

We all share the need to optimise the evaluation of patients with disorders of consciousness (DOC), given the high rate of misdiagnosis of vegetative state based on clinical examination. We believe that one way to do this is to optimise assessment from the early stages, in order to reduce discontinuity between the hospital and rehabilitation phases. While clinical observation remains the "gold standard" for the diagnostic assessment of patients with DOC, neurophysiological investigations (electroencephalography, short latency evoked potentials and event-related potentials) could help to further understanding of the pathophysiology underlying the state of unresponsiveness, differentiate coma from other apparently similar conditions (i.

Proposal of a new criterion for electrodiagnosis of meralgia paresthetica by evoked potentials.

We examined 19 subjects with meralgia paresthetica (bilateral in three cases), recording bilateral somatosensory-evoked potentials (SSEPs) after stimulation of the tibial posterior nerve (TPN) and cutaneous stimulation in the region of the lateral femoral cutaneous nerve (LFCN). We calculated the difference between TPN SSEPs and LFCN SSEPs cortical potentials, identifying a temporal parameter that we termed D(SEP). We defined D(SEP) normal values in a control group.

Prediction of 'awakening' and outcome in prolonged acute coma from severe traumatic brain injury: evidence for validity of short latency SEPs.

Objective: To evaluate the prognostic value of somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs) in severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) considering both 'awakening' and disability.

Methods: SEPs were recorded in 60 severe TBI with duration of acute coma>7 days. N20-P25 amplitudes, their side-to-side asymmetry and CCT were measured.