Auditory Brain Stem Responses in Encephalitis of the Brain Stem

Auditory Brain Stem Responses (ABR) were recorded in a 5-year-old girl with encephalitis of the brain stem. The patient was admitted to the hospital in semicomatous condition with irregular respiration. Hyperreflexia, abnormal reflex and occasional opistotonic posture were also seen. ABR in the right ear on admission showed wave-I only and prolonged latency. In the left ear, the wave from I to IV with normal latency were obserevd. The other waves in the both ears were not identified. Her consciousness and neurological abnormalities were gradually recovered during next 7 weeks. Improvement of the clinical features were almost parallel to that of ABR. The latency of wave V was still prolonged 20 months after the onset of the disease, but gradually improved. ABR can be usefull for diagnosis and follow-up of the brain stem disorders.