In a previous prospective study from our laboratory, the prognostic significance of the auditory brainstem evoked response (ABR) was assessed in high risk neonates. An abnormal ABR predicted neurologic sequelae at 1 year; however there were false negatives. In this study, somatosensory evoked responses (SER) were performed together with the ABR so that a wider distribution of the nervous system could be evaluated. Testing was carried out on healthy and high risk neonates in the newborn period and in infancy. Infants were subsequently evaluated in a blind fashion at 1 year of age by a pediatric neurologist and psychologist. As part of this study, normative data and reliable testing procedures needed to be established. The effect of gestational age on evoked responses performed in the newborn period was also determined. / The results demonstrated that the ABR and SER can be reliably recorded in newborns. Latency and morphological changes on serial testing reflected maturation of the nervous system. Chi square analysis revealed that an abnormal SER or ABR predicted neuromotor impairment at 1 year of age. The type of SER abnormality further delineated the degree of disability. A normal SER and ABR predicted normal neurodevelopmental outcome. In conclusion, multi-modality evoked response testing yielded valuable prognostic information for the newborn at high risk for neurologic sequelae.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.74333 |
| Date | January 1990 |
| Creators | Majnemer, Annette |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Doctor of Philosophy (Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 001233396, proquestno: AAINN63682, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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