Intraoperative Neurophysiologic Monitoring

Intraoperative neurophysiologic monitoring describes a variety of procedures used to monitor the integrity of neural pathways during high-risk neurosurgical, orthopedic, and vascular surgeries. It involves the detection of electrical signals produced by the nervous system in response to sensory or electrical stimuli to provide information about the functional integrity of neuronal structures. This evidence review does not address established neurophysiologic monitoring (ie, somatosensory-evoked potentials, motor-evoked potentials using transcranial electrical stimulation, brainstem auditory-evoked potentials, electromyography of cranial nerves, electroencephalography, electrocorticography), during spinal, intracranial, or vascular procedures.