Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Anesthesia and evoked potentials: Overview

  • Published:
International journal of clinical monitoring and computing

Summary

Evoked potentials are increasingly used for intraoperative monitoring. Their use is based on their ability to detect early changes caused by surgical maneuvers which may result in post operative deficits. However, not all changes are surgically related and any decrease in the non surgical causes of evoked potential changes increases the yield of intraoperative monitoring. In this review I will discuss the anesthetic effects on evoked potentials; these include a general description of the anesthetic effects on evoked potentials followed by the effects of premedication, induction, and maintenance agents. Also, described are the effects of adjunct anesthetic agents and techniques. Changes related to anesthesia are not similar and the knowledge of such differences is essential for the planing of anesthesia during the use of evoked potentials. An out line of the anesthetic techniques are described at the end of this review.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Benedetti C, Chapman CR, Colpitts YH, Chen AC. Effects of nitrous oxide concentration on event related potentials during painful tooth stimulation. Anesthesiology 1982; 56: 360–364.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Branston NM, Symon L, Crockard HA, Pazstor E. Relationship between the cortical evoked potential and local cortical blood flow following acute middle cerebral artery occlusion in baboon. Exp Neurol 1974; 45: 195–208.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Burchill KJ, Stackard JJ, Myer RR, Bickford RG. Visual and auditory evoked responses during enflurance anesthesia in man and cats. Electroenceph Clin Neurophysiol 1975; 39: 434.

    Google Scholar 

  4. Chiappa KH. Evoked potentials in clinical medicine. Raven press. 1985; 248–249.

  5. Dong WK, Bledsoe SW, Eng DY, Heavner JE. Profound arterial hypotension in dogs: Brain electrical activity and organ integrity. Anesesthesiology 1983; 58: 61–71.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Drummondd JC, Todd MM, Sang H. The effect of high dose sodium thiopental on brain stem auditory and median nerve somatosensory evoked responses in humans. Anesthesiology 1985; 63: 249–254.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Frazier WT, Odom SH, Biggs BD. Anesthetic technique for spinal cord monitoring. In: Schramm J, Jones SJ, (eds) Spinal cord monitoring. Berlin-Heidelberg-New York: Springer, 1985: 69–81.

    Google Scholar 

  8. Grundy B. Intraoperative monitoring of sensory-evoked potentials. Anesthesiology 1983; 58: 72–87.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Grundy BL, Nash CL, Brown RH. Arterial pressure manipulation alters spinal cord function during correction of scoliosis. Anesthesiology 1981; 54: 249–253.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Grundy BL, Brown RH, Clifton PC. Effect of droperidol on somatosensory cortical evoked potentials. Electroenceph clin Neurophysiol 1980; 50: 158 p (abstract).

    Google Scholar 

  11. Grundy BL, Brown RH. Meperidine enhances somatosensory cortical evoked potentials. Electroenceph clin Neurophysiol 1980; 50: 177 p (abstract).

    Google Scholar 

  12. Hume A, Durkin M. Central and spinal somatosensory conduction times during hypothermic cardiopulmonary bypass and some observation on the effects of fentanyl and isoflurane anesthesia. EEG Clin Neurophysiolog 1986; 65: 46–58.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Kimovic MA, Serpico LC, Sloan TB, Koht A, Carlvin AO. Effects of thiopental on cerebral evoked potentials. Anesth Analg 1986; 65: S80 (abstract).

    Google Scholar 

  14. Kileny P, Dobson D, Gelfand ET. Middle-latency auditory evoked potentials during open heart surgery with hypothermia. Electroenceph Clin Neurophysiol 1983; 55: 268–276.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Kochs E, Treede RD, Schulte AM, Esch J. Evozierte Potentiale unter Narkoseeinleitung mit Midazolam in Kombination mit Etomidat oder Thiopental. In: Schulte AM, Esch J, (eds.) Benzodiazepine in Anästhesie und Intersiv-medizin, 1986; 153–170.

  16. Koht A, Kimovec MA, Sloan TB, Carlvin AO. The effects of sufentanil on median nerve somatosensory evoked potentials. Anesth Analg 1986; 65: S81 (abstract).

    Google Scholar 

  17. Koht A, Sloan T, Ronai A, Toleikis R. Intraoperative Deterioration of evoked potentials during spinal surgery. In: Schramm J, Jones SJ, (eds.) Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag, 1985; 161–166.

    Google Scholar 

  18. Loughnan BL, Sebel PS, Thomas D, Rutherfoord CF, Rogers H. Evoked potentials following diazepam or fentanyl. Anaesthesia 1987; 42: 195–198.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Markand ON, Warren CH, Moorthy SS, Stoelting R, King RD. Monitoring of multimodality evoked potentials during open heart surgery under hypothermia. EEG Clin Neurolog 1984; 59: 432–440.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. McPherson RW, Sell B, Traystman RJ. Effects of thiopental, fentanyl and etomidate on upper extremity somatosensory evoked potentials in humans. Anesthesiology 1986; 65: 584–589.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. McPherson RW, Mahla M, Johnson R, Traystman RJ. Effects of enflurane, isoflurane and nitrous oxide on somatosensory evoked potentials during fentanyl anesthesia. Anesthesiology 1985; 62: 626–633.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Møller A, Jannetta P. Monitoring facial EMG responses during microvascular decompression operations for hemifacial spasm. J Neurosurg 1987; 66: 681–685.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Nago S, Roccaforte P, Moody RA. The effects of isovolemic hemodilution and reinfusion of packed erythrocytes on somatosensory and visual evoked potentials. J Surg Res 1978; 25: 530–537.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Pathak KS, Brown RH, Cascorbi HF, Nash CL. Effects of fentanyl and morphine on intraoperative somatosensory cortical evoked potentials. Anesth Analg 1984; 63: 833–837.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Pathak KS, Brown RH, Nash jr CL, Cascorbi HF. Continuous opioid infusion for scoliosis fusion surgery. Anesthesiology 1983; 62: 841–845.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Salzman SK, Beckman Al, Marks HG, Bunnell WP, MacEwen. Effects of halothane on intraoperative scalp-recorded somatosensory evoked potentials to posterior tibial nerve stimulation in man. EEG Clin Neurophysiolog 1986; 65: 36–45.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Samra SK, Vanderzant CW, Domer PA, Sackellares CJ. Differential effects of Isoflurane on human medium nerve somatosensory evoked potentials. Anesthesiology 1987; 66: 29–35.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  28. Samra SK, Lilly DJ, Rush NL, Kirsh MM. Fentanyl anesthesia and human brain stem auditory evoked potentials. Anesthesiology 1984; 61: 261–265.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  29. Sebel PS, Ingram DA, Flynn PJ, Rutherfoord CF, Rogers H. Evoked potentials during isoflurane anaesthesia. Br J Anaesth 1986; 58: 580–585.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  30. Sebel PS, Flynn PJ, Ingram DA. Effects of nitrous oxide on visual auditory and somatosensory evoked potentials. Br J Anaesth 1984; 56: 1403–1407.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  31. Sloan TB, Koht A. Depression of cortical somatosensory evoked potentials by nitrous oxide. Br J Anaesth 1985; 57: 849–852.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  32. Straumanis JJ, Shagass C. Electrophysiological effects of triiodothyronine and propranolol. Psychopharmacologia Berlin 1976; 46: 283–288.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  33. Sutton LN, Frewen T, Marsh R, Jaggi J, Bruce D. The effects of deep barbiturate coma on multimodality evoked potentials. J Neurosurg 1982; 57: 178–185.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  34. Thornton C, Heneghan CPH, Nacvaratnarajah M, Bateman PE, Jones JG. Effects of etomidate on the auditory evoked responses in man. Br J Anaesth 1985; 57: 554–561.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  35. Thurner F, Schramm J, Romstock J. Effects of fentanyl and enflurane on cortical and subcortical SEP during general anesthesia in man. In: Schramm J, Jones SJ, (eds) Spinal cord monitoring. Berlin-Heidelberg-New York: Springer, 1985; 82–89.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anesthesia, Northwestern University, 303 E. Superior St., Room 360, 60611, Chicago, IL, USA

    Antoun Koht

Authors
  1. Antoun Koht
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Koht, A. Anesthesia and evoked potentials: Overview. J Clin Monit Comput 5, 167–173 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02933713

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02933713

Key words

Search

Navigation