Prediction of chronic vegetative state in children using evoked potentials

Absence of median nerve vertex referenced parietal somatosensory evoked potentials with preservation of the brainstem auditory evoked potential correlated with loss of cortical function and preservation of brainstem function in five children sustaining hypoxic insults who developed a chronic vegetative state. Evoked potential studies were more reliable than either the clinical exam or EEG, which were often misleadingly optimistic in prediction of outcome.