Investigation of the inter-observer variability effect on the prognostic value of somatosensory evoked potentials of the median nerve (SSEP) in cardiac arrest survivors using an SSEP classification.

Background And Purpose: We investigated the inter-observer variability in interpretation of median nerve SSEPs with regard to neurological prognosis in survivors of cardiac arrest (CA).

Methods: Four experienced neurologists analyzed 163 median nerve SSEPs on the basis of a pre-defined classification of SSEPs into five patterns (A-E), with consideration of cortical potentials up to a latency of 150ms. Of these, 133 recordings were from CA survivors and 30 were from healthy volunteers.