A comparison of intra- versus post-operatively acquired electrically evoked compound action potentials

The objective of this study was to compare the electrically evoked compound action potentials, intra- versus post-operatively, in cochlear implant patients. In a prospective study twenty-five consecutively implanted adult patients received a multichannel cochlear implant. In all patients, electrically evoked compound action potentials were recorded immediately after cochlear implantation and in a post-operative setting nine months later. The threshold of the electrically evoked compound action potential was determined in both settings. A high success rate (97.4%) was found in the intra-operative setting when recording the electrically evoked compound action potential threshold per patient. The success rate per patient was significantly lower (53.4%) in the post-operative setting. Correlations between the intra- versus the post-operative ECAP thresholds were statistically significant for all electrodes tested. The ECAP thresholds were not significantly different for the two settings. The intra-operative setting is preferable for acquisition of the ECAP threshold.