Authors: Kassem Roumani, Karim Kheir, Omar Al Jassem, Khalil Nasrallah.
Aims: Intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring (IONM) is being more implemented in medical practices and routinely used during surgical procedures.
This study aims to assess neurosurgeons’ knowledge, attitude, and practices regarding the techniques of neuromonitoring used in spine surgeries, and the limitations that prevent them from implementing these techniques in care optimization. It also aims to determine which interventions are most effective at avoiding postoperative complications following IONM alerts.
Results: Among the participating neurosurgeons, 16.7% confirmed adopting IONM regularly, while the majority (58.3%) rarely used spinal cord monitoring. One neurosurgeon, however, stated that he never used any monitoring. More than 80% of neurosurgeons thought IONM modalities were useful for spinal procedures.
Discussion: IONM of the spinal cord is changing dramatically as a result of the recent technological advancements and the development of a wide range neurophysiological techniques to improve patient outcomes. This contribution in enhancing the safety of spinal procedures and limiting potential iatrogenic neurologic injuries has made IONM more popular among neurosurgeons. Additionally, more than 80% of neurosurgeons considered IONM modalities to be useful for spinal procedures.
Conclusion: IONM is a highly useful neuromonitoring technique to identify the signs of potential postoperative neurologic deficits and avoid possible subsequent sequelae. Physicians should have enough knowledge regarding the proposed surgery, and the preferred types of IONM to be employed, and understand the influence of drugs and anesthetic techniques on evoked potentials in order to choose the most appropriate neuromonitoring approach.
View/Download pdf