Brainstem Auditory Evoked Potential in a Case of Severe Carbon Monoxide Intoxication

ABSTRACT

A 36-year-old man was brought unconscious to the emergency room; he suffered anoxic brain damage due to carbon monoxide (CO) intoxication, and had decerebrate rigidity clinically and died 1 month later after the acute insult. Computed tomography with contrast enhancement failed to show a brainstem lesion but the brainstem auditory evoked potential (BAEP) demonstrated the brainstem involvement. The BAEP can be used as an objective diagnostic aid for evaluating brainstem lesions in CO intoxication.