Pharmacologic and physiologic influences affecting sensory evoked potentials: implications for perioperative monitoring.

EVOKED potentials (EPs) are the electrophysiologic responses of the nervous system to sensory or motor stimulation. Stimulating the nervous system initiates the transmission of neural signals that may be recorded as EPs from various points along the stimulated pathway. Intraoperative monitoring (IOM) of EP has gained popularity because EPs reflect the functional integrity of neural pathways in anesthetized patients undergoing surgical procedures that place nervous system structures in jeopardy. EPs monitored intraoperatively include somatosensory evoked potentials (SSEPs), brainstem auditory evoked potentials (BAEPs; also referred to as auditory brainstem responses), visual evoked potentials (VEPs), and motor evoked potentials. Additional EP modalities include dermatomal sensory evoked potentials, electrocochleography, and electromyography. Intraoperative EP changes may result from surgical injury or ischemia of the specific neural pathway, or they may be due to nonspecific physiologic or pharmacologic influences. Physiologic factors that may influence EPs include temperature, blood pressure, hematocrit, acid– base balance, and oxygen and carbon dioxide tensions. Anesthetic drugs and sedatives are the most common pharmacologic causes of nonspecific EP changes. This review discusses the physiologic and pharmacologic factors (including newer anesthetic agents and adjuncts) that influence sensory evoked potentials (SEPs), focussing on SSEPs, BAEPs, and VEPs. For ease of reference and to allow better comparisons between anesthetic agents, the discussion of anesthetic effects is separated from physiologic effects. The review intends to help clinicians recognize the important confounding perturbations so that intraoperative changes in SEPs can be interpreted optimally. It also aims to guide anesthetic planning so that reliable intraoperative EP monitoring can be accomplished during effective and safe anesthesia.