The prognostic role of evoked potentials in neonatal hypoxic-ischemic insult

Neonatal encephalopathy is a significant cause of infant mortality and morbidity with risk of neurological sequelae in the survivors of neonates admitted to Neonatal (N) Intensive Care Unit (ICU). The EEG and Evoked Potentials (EPs) are very informative in the ICU. In particular, it is known that the SomatoSensory (SS) EPs are the best single indicator of early prognosis in adults and children patients with traumatic and/or hypoxic-ischemic coma compared to the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) and CTscan. Most paediatric studies excluded newborns in an attempt to eliminate the age effects, because of the structural and functional immaturity of somatosensory system. In fact, newborns differ from adults and paediatric patients for many aspects: hypoxic-ischemic aetiology, SSEPs normative data, grading and predictive values, timing and techniques recording, clinical scales of evaluation. Recently a diagnostic and predictive role of early SSEPs has been established in perinatal hypoxic-ischemic. We reported a literature review of early diagnostic/prognostic role of SSEPs and our preliminary neurophysiological data of prospective study in mild or severe perinatal hypoxic-ischemic insult.