This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Letters to the Editor: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when Letters to the Editor are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow E-mail this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My File Cabinet
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Ewen, A.
Right arrow Articles by Lonner, B.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Ewen, A.
Right arrow Articles by Lonner, B.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Technorati  
What's this?
The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery 81:1044 (1999)
© 1999 The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, Inc.

Correspondence

Correspondence

Alastair Ewen, M.B., Ch.B., F.R.C.A., F.R.C.P.(C), Bevin B. Bart, M.D., F.R.C.P.(C), Gerald V. Goresky, M.D.C.M., F.R.C.P.(C), Stanley Hoppenfeld, M.D., Alan Gross, M.D. and Baron Lonner, M.D.

TO THE EDITOR:

We were interested to read "The Ankle Clonus Test for Assessment of the Integrity of the Spinal Cord during Operations for Scoliosis" (79-A: 208–212, Feb. 1997), by Hoppenfeld et al. A sensitive and specific test of the integrity of the spinal cord that is noninvasive and simple to perform has obvious attractions for anesthesiologists and surgeons who care for young patients who have scoliosis.

The test may prove to be a useful addition to the techniques of spinal cord monitoring, but we believe that a note of caution is warranted. It is well known that transient neurological abnormalities, including ankle clonus, occur at low concentrations of volatile anesthetic agents. The conclusions of Hoppenfeld et al. are based on their finding of only three false-positive results in 1006 study patients and no false-positive results in 115 control patients. These remarkable results are at variance with observations reported in . . . [Full Text of this Article]


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Technorati Technorati    What's this?