Authors (including presenting author) :
YUNG KY (1)
Affiliation :
(1) Department of Neurosurgery, Kwong Wah Hospital
Introduction :
Intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring (IONM) is the gold standard for ensuring patient safety while undergoing neurosurgical operations. It enables continuous monitoring of functional integrity of neural pathways. Like adults, children are also at risk for neurological injury during a variety of surgical procedures. Some neurophysiological techniques commonly used in adults, however, may need technical adjustments to adapt for use in children with their immature nervous systems.
Objectives :
To compare the different neurophysiological techniques between adults and pediatrics. To examine special problems of application of IONM to pediatric neurosurgical cases and technical preparation.
Methodology :
Performing pediatric surgery requiring IONM has started since 2013. There were however special problems of application of IONM to pediatric patients and were therefore carefully reviewed with literature and peer support. Apart from the common factors affecting the data collection were discussed; a pediatric case was shared in detail to illustrate the challenging of monitoring.
Result & Outcome :
IONM was successfully ensured the patient safety and clinical outcome in this pediatric case as there were no new neurological deficits after the operation. The different neurophysiological techniques between adults and pediatrics were discussed. The technical preparation and adjustments of application IONM to this case were also reviewed. Yet, there are still factors and techniques challenging to perform IONM in different pediatric cases. Hence, IONM team will continue to develop the valuable references so as to strive for better patient outcomes and clinical safety in the future monitoring.
