Multimodality evoked potentials in patients of heatstroke

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Clinical Neurophysiology
• Emergency Medicine

Background:

• Heatstroke is a severe medical emergency characterized by hyperthermia and central nervous system dysfunction.
• Electrophysiological studies like BAEP and SSEP can provide objective measures of neurological impairment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the utility of brainstem auditory evoked potentials (BAEP) and somatosensory evoked potentials (SSEP) in assessing neurological damage in heatstroke patients.
• To correlate electrophysiological findings with the severity of heatstroke and level of consciousness.

Main Methods:

• BAEP and SSEP were recorded in 10 patients diagnosed with heatstroke.
• Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) was used to assess the level of consciousness in all patients.

Main Results:

• All 10 patients exhibited abnormal BAEP and/or SSEP findings.
• Consistent BAEP abnormalities included delayed wave latencies (III, V) and interpeak latencies (IPL) (III-V, I-V).
• Consistent SSEP abnormalities included delayed N20 peak latency and N13-N20 interpeak latency (CCT), with 40% showing distorted N20 waveforms.

Conclusions:

• Abnormalities in BAEP and SSEP are common in heatstroke patients, indicating widespread central nervous system dysfunction.
• These electrophysiological changes are likely attributed to cerebral edema and neuronal damage resulting from hyperpyrexia or petechial hemorrhages in the brain.