RESUSCITATION AFTER SEVERE HYPOXIA IN A YOUNG-CHILD - TEMPORARY ISOELECTRIC EEG AND LOSS OF BAEP COMPONENTS

EEG and multimodality evoked potentials are currently used to ascertai n brain death. We have observed electrocerebral silence (ECS) and loss of wave IV and V in BAEP in a 28-month-old child, 2 h after resuscita tion from severe hypoxia, followed by reappearance of EEG activity and of waves IV and V (latencies and amplitudes within normal range) 18 h later. Temporary loss of EEG activity has been observed occasionally, while rapid reoccurrence of BAEP waves IV and V was unexpected and in contrast to the common observation, that rostro-caudal loss of BAEP w aves is irreversible. This observation suggests that temporary loss of BAEP waves IV and V may occur and that caution is necessary in the in terpretation of BAEP recorded immediately after a resuscitation.