ABSTRACT
The purpose of intraoperative monitoring is to detect the onset of changes in the functional status of neurological structures that could result in permanent postoperative neurological deficits, so that actions can be taken early enough to reverse the offense and restore normal function. The efficacy of intraoperative monitoring (IOM) depends on the sensitivity and specificity of the criteria used for interpretation of the recordings, i.e., on their ability to detect true changes accurately and differentiate them from false alarms. Exact interpretation criteria for each test administered can be found in Chapters 6 and 7.
