• Br J Anaesth · Jul 1989

    Comparative Study

    The auditory evoked response as an indicator of awareness.

    • C Thornton, M P Barrowcliffe, K M Konieczko, P Ventham, C J Doré, D E Newton, and J G Jones.
    • Division of Anaesthesia, Royal Perth Hospital, Western Australia.
    • Br J Anaesth. 1989 Jul 1; 63 (1): 113-5.

    AbstractThe latency of the early cortical wave Nb of the auditory evoked response (AER) was compared with responses to Tunstall's isolated forearm test, while the concentration of nitrous oxide was progressively reduced during light anaesthesia in seven patients. A threshold Nb latency of 44.5 ms was chosen to discriminate between an early cortical AER containing three waves and that with two waves of longer latency. When Nb latency decreased below this threshold, four of the patients has positive responses, indicating awareness. The addition of a volatile anaesthetic abolished any response, and increased Nb latency to more than 44.5 ms. The three wave AER pattern, therefore, is associated with a depth of anaesthesia at which awareness occurs.

      Pubmed     Full text   Copy Citation     Plaintext  

      Add institutional full text...

    Notes

     
    Knowledge, pearl, summary or comment to share?
    300 characters remaining
    help        

    hide…