Can anterior laryngeal electrodes (ALEs) help reduce the error of false positives in laryngeal nerve function assessment during thyroid and parathyroid surgery?
Bottom Line
Compared to ETT surface electrodes, ALEs provide similar and stable electromyographic responses with equal sensitivity during neural monitoring in thyroid and parathyroid surgery.
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December 2018Background: Injury to the recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) with resultant vocal fold paralysis is one of the most significant complications of thyroid and parathyroid surgery. Intraoperative neural monitoring is a useful adjunct for the laryngeal nerve function assessment. Typically, electromyographic responses recorded by endotracheal tube (ETT) surface electrodes are monitored, but tube position alterations during surgery can cause displacement of the electrodes relative to the vocal cords, leading to false positive loss of signal.
Study design: Retrospective review of 15 consecutive patients undergoing thyroid and parathyroid surgery from April 27, 2016, to October 5, 2016, with intraoperative neuromonitoring using both ETT electrodes and ALEs.
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