Somatosensory-evoked potentials in spinal cord injuries.

Short-latency somatosensory-evoked potentials after peroneal nerve stimulation were recorded in 25 patients with long-standing incomplete spinal cord injuries. The results were correlated with the patient's ability to walk. Nine patients had normal latencies, and four of these patients had no useful function in their lower limbs. Sixteen patients had prolonged latencies, and eight of these had useful ambulation. It is concluded that the scalp-recorded somatosensory-evoked potentials from peroneal nerve stimulation does not reliably predict function after spinal cord trauma.