Somatosensory and motor evoked potential changes in patients with Pott's paraplegia.

Abstract

The evoked potential changes in patients with Pott's paraplegia have not been reported in the literature. We conducted median and tibial somatosensory evoked potential (SEP) and central motor conduction studies to the upper and lower limbs in seven patients with this condition. The patients' age ranged from 20 to 71 years; four were males. The vertebral involvement was commonest in the lower thoracic region (4), and a cold abscess was present in five of the patients. Central motor conduction time (CMCT) to the lower limbs was unrecordable in 3 (six sides) and prolonged in 3 patients (four sides). The tibial SEP was unrecordable in 4 patients (seven sides). Motor evoked potentials and SEP correlated with respective motor and sensory impairments, as well as with the outcome.