TRIGEMINAL AND AUDITORY-EVOKED RESPONSES IN MINOR HEAD-INJURIES AND POST-CONCUSSION SYNDROME

Forty patients who sustained minor head trauma were investigated by br ainstem trigeminal and auditory evoked potentials (BTEP, BAEP) and mid dle-latency auditory evoked potentials (MLAEP). The patients were eval uated within the first 48 h following their admission and at 3 months after the injury. Outcome was scored at the follow-up examination acco rding to six complaints: failure to resume previous professional activ ity, headache, memory disorders, dizziness and vertigo, behavioural an d emotional disturbances, and other symptoms of a neurological nature. Post-concussion syndrome (PCS) was defined by the presence of four or more of the listed features. All three evoked potential modalities sh owed significantly increased latencies at the initial assessment, disc losing disseminated axonal damage. Unlike the BTEPs and the BAEPs, the MLAEPs proved to correlate to outcome at 3 months, especially in its psychocognitive aspects. These findings suggest that organic diencepha lic-paraventricular primary damage may account for the occurrence of P CS.