The value of brainstem auditory evoked potentials in the diagnostic assessment of dysphagia after craniocerebral injury.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to explore the value of brainstem auditory evoked potentials in the diagnostic assessment of dysphagia after craniocerebral injury.

METHODS

To investigate the role of brainstem auditory evoked potentials (BAEPs) in dysphagia diagnosis, we prospectively analyzed BAEP findings and gold-standard diagnoses in 106 patients with head injury. Inclusion criteria: ① Age 18-70 years old; ② Diagnosed by Chinese Expert Consensus on Evaluation and Treatment of Dysphagia. Exclusion criteria: ① Patients with a Glasgow coma scale score ≤8 and patients who cannot be managed with intervention; ② Previous comorbidities that may affect swallowing function.

RESULTS

A total of 65 males and 41 females patients were enrolled. The positive rate of BAEP in moderate to severe dysphagia was 86.96%, which was significantly higher than that in the mild dysphagia group (45.95%; p < 0.01). 60 patients were BAEP-positive and moderate-to-severe dysphagia patients, and considered neurogenic dysphagia, 46 patients were BAEP-negative, and considered non-neurophagia. The AUC of BAEP diagnosis of moderate to severe dysphagia was 0.705.

CONCLUSION

BAEP can be used as an accurate diagnostic method for nerve injury, it is helpful to identify whether it is a neurological dysphagia.