Evoked responses after head trauma

A neurological examination, routine EEG and a battery of evoked responses (i. e. to a flash, to a checkerboard pattern, to three different tones and to the electrical stimulation of the median nerves) were performed in 14 patients within 24 hours, after one month, six months and a year after head trauma. The results have shown a significant correlation between the number of low R values in the first study and both severeness of the trauma and the clinical evolution a year later. ERs appeared to be - unlike the native EEG - a powerful measure for recommending prophylactic treatment in those traumas which are generally considered to produce slight brain damage, but may provoke a post-traumatic epilepsy and/or great memory deficits. This correlation also shows that bad prognosis may be anticipated in cases with widespread ERs' abnormalities.