Motor Evoked Potential Monitoring in Pregnancy
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15284110Keywords:
MEP, IONM, SEP, motor evoked potentials, pregnancy, safety, neuromonitoring, neurophysiologyAbstract
Intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring (IONM) is employed to assess the integrity of the nervous system during surgical procedures. One modality of IONM, Motor Evoked Potentials (MEPs), specifically monitors the corticospinal tract and motor pathways. The primary objective of this paper was to evaluate the efficacy of MEPs monitoring in pregnant patients undergoing surgical procedures. We identified four relevant articles published between 2010 and 2022 on PubMed to inform this analysis. The selected literature focused on MEPs monitoring in pregnant adult patients who underwent various surgical procedures, including craniotomies, excision of cervical intraspinal tumors, and laminectomies. Patient and fetal monitoring were essential during these procedures to minimize the risk of neurological injury and improve surgical outcomes. MEPs are recorded by measuring the amplitude and time delay between stimulus and response. The absence of MEPs may indicate a decrease in amplitude, suggesting potential damage to motor pathways, while the presence of MEPs with clear motor contractions indicates functional motor pathways to some extent. Overall, the findings suggest that MEPs are a valuable form of IONM for pregnant patients, with no reported complications for either the mothers or the fetuses.
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