OBJECTIVE: The goal of this study was, first, to determine the effect of the concentrations of volatile anesthetics (halothane and isoflurane) on the intraoperative elicited electrical stapedius reflex threshold (ESRT) and, second, to evaluate the relation between the ESRTs and postoperative C-levels. STUDY DESIGN: This was a prospective clinical study in a single subject design. SETTING: The study was conducted at University Hospital Nijmegen, which is a tertiary care and cochlear implant center in The Netherlands. PATIENTS: The study population comprised 13 deaf children (6 males and 7 females) undergoing cochlear implantation. RESULTS: In most of the children, increasing the concentration of volatile anesthetic agent resulted in higher stapedius reflex threshold. After correction for this effect, a good relation was found between ESRT and C-level in all children, except for one. CONCLUSIONS: The outcome of this study supports the determination of intraoperative ESRTs for programming of the speech processor postsurgery.
OBJECTIVE: The goal of this study was, first, to determine the effect of the concentrations of volatile anesthetics (halothane and isoflurane) on the intraoperative elicited electrical stapedius reflex threshold (ESRT) and, second, to evaluate the relation between the ESRTs and postoperative C-levels. STUDY DESIGN: This was a prospective clinical study in a single subject design. SETTING: The study was conducted at University Hospital Nijmegen, which is a tertiary care and cochlear implant center in The Netherlands. PATIENTS: The study population comprised 13 deaf children (6 males and 7 females) undergoing cochlear implantation. RESULTS: In most of the children, increasing the concentration of volatile anesthetic agent resulted in higher stapedius reflex threshold. After correction for this effect, a good relation was found between ESRT and C-level in all children, except for one. CONCLUSIONS: The outcome of this study supports the determination of intraoperative ESRTs for programming of the speech processor postsurgery.