Prognostic Value Of Somatosensory Evoked Potential In Stroke Patients

Objective To evaluate the prognostic value of somatosensory evoked potential (SEP) in stroke patients.Methods Forty-one stroke in-patients received somatosenory evoked potential examination within three days, and the length of latency and amplitude of P15, N20, P38were compared between the healthy and diseased sides. NIH Stroke Scale (NIHSS), Barthel Index(BI) and Fugl-Meyer Assessment(FMA), a reliable and valid test for sensory function in stroke patients were all assessed at the beginning of the onset,1month and3month later after they discharged from hospital. And compared the relevance between SEP latency of diseased sides and the assessment scale for stroke at the three time point.Results1. The tibial nerve P38of paralytic lower-limb were not detected in eight patients, while median nerve P15, N20of paralytic upper-limb were not detected in six patients. In the remaining thirty-three patients, the latency of SEP in the paralytic limb extended significantly (p＜0.01).2. In the remaining thirty-three patients, the latency of SEP in the paralytic limb correlated significantly with NIHSS, BI and FMA statistically at the onset and1month later after they leave the hospital (p＜0.01). There were the same relevancy between SEP and BI, FMA at the time of3month (p＜0.01). But the latency of SEP in paralytic limb were not related to NIHSS.(p＞0.05) Conclusion1. The latency of paralytic limb SEP extended significantly compared with the healthy limb.2. The latency of paralytic limb SEP were related with neurological function deficit, sensory function of paralytic limb and quality of living, and it’s a useful examination for evaluating the prognosis in patients with stroke.