Auditory Brainstem Responses in Patients with Severe Head Injuries

Auditory brainstem responses(ABR)were recorded in 30 cases suffering from severe head injuries.Abnormal recordings were observed in all the patients,and the abnormalities ranged from prolongation of the interperk latency intervals to complete absence of all waves.Based on the results obtained,ABR grading system was considered to be correlated with the neurological outcome of head injuries.ABR could provide objective information about the function of the brainstem and predict brainstem dysfunction before the appearance of pupillary changing .ABR is a reliabe diagnosis and prognostic method for brainstem injuries,and is a diagnostic criteria of brain death as well.(Original article on page 33)