Brainstem auditory evoked responses in coma due to meningoencephalitis

ABSTRACT— Prognosticating the outcome of an unconscious patient continues to pose a serious challenge to the clinicians. BAERs are the latest addition to neurological diagnostic aids for predicting the outcome of coma. The relative value of BAERs in predicting the outcome of 15 comatosed meningoencephalitis patients has been studied. The results points to a rôle of BAERs in the detection of brain stem dysfunction in a large majority of patients. However, when used as a prognostic indicant, the traditional bed-side clinical assessment (GCS and vestibulo-ocular cold caloric response) still holds a slight advantage over advanced technology. BAERs may have a place in assessing brain stem dysfunction in neurologic conditions where an adequate clinical assessment may not be possible.