Relationship Between Brainstem Auditory Evoked Potentials and Clinical Function in Patients With Cerebral Infarction

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to analyze the association between the brainstem auditory evoked potential (BAEP) and clinical outcomes at discharge in patients who have had subacute ischemic stroke. Methods: A total of 210 patients who have had ischemic stroke, confirmed by MRI within 3 months after onset, were enrolled. Demographics and stroke-related clinical assessment scales, such as the modified Barthel index and National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS), were collected. Recorded latencies of waveforms I, III, and V of BAEP were bilaterally collected and analyzed. The results of the patients with supratentorial brain lesions were further analyzed. Results: The mean BAEP latencies of waveforms I, III, and V in the subjects were 1.84 +/- 0.22, 4.07 +/- 0.27, and 6.07 +/- 0.33 ms, respectively. As the modified Barthel index and NIHSS scores at discharge functionally worsened, the latencies of all lesion-side BAEP waveforms were significantly delayed. In patients with supratentorial brain lesions only, there was a significant delay in the latency of waveform V at the lesion side as modified Barthel index severity increased (P = 0.048). As the NIHSS score functionally worsened, BAEP latencies III and V recorded at the lesion side significantly delayed (P = 0.023 and P = 0.003, respectively). In multivariate linear regression models, latency V was found to be a significant factor in predicting outcome at discharge, among other factors. Conclusions: In patients with ischemic stroke with the poor clinical outcome at discharge, there were delayed latencies of waveforms I, III, and V of BAEP performed in the early phase of stroke.