STUDY DESIGN Narrative review. OBJECTIVES To discuss how electrophysiology may contribute to future clinical trials in spinal cord injury (SCI) in terms of: (1) improvement of SCI diagnosis, patient stratification and determination of exclusion criteria; (2) the assessment of adverse events; and (3) detection of therapeutic effects following an intervention. METHODS An international expert panel for electrophysiological measures in SCI searched and discussed the literature focused on the topic. RESULTS Electrophysiology represents a valid method to detect, track, and quantify readouts of nerve functions including signal conduction, e.g., evoked potentials testing long spinal tracts, and neural processing, e.g., reflex testing. Furthermore, electrophysiological measures can predict functional outcomes and thereby guide rehabilitation programs and therapeutic interventions for clinical studies. CONCLUSION Objective and quantitative measures of sensory, motor, and autonomic function based on electrophysiological techniques are promising tools to inform and improve future SCI trials. Complementing clinical outcome measures, electrophysiological recordings can improve the SCI diagnosis and patient stratification, as well as the detection of both beneficial and adverse events. Specifically composed electrophysiological measures can be used to characterize the topography and completeness of SCI and reveal neuronal integrity below the lesion, a prerequisite for the success of any interventional trial. Further validation of electrophysiological tools with regard to their validity, reliability, and sensitivity are needed in order to become routinely applied in clinical SCI trials.

中文翻译：

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电生理措施在脊髓损伤临床试验中的应用：叙事回顾。

研究设计叙事评论。目的从以下方面讨论电生理学如何对脊髓损伤（SCI）的未来临床试验做出贡献：（1）改善SCI诊断，患者分层和确定排除标准；（2）不良事件的评估；（3）干预后检测治疗效果。方法在SCI中，一个国际电生理措施专家小组搜索并讨论了围绕该主题的文献。结果电生理学是一种检测，跟踪和量化神经功能读数的有效方法，包括信号传导，例如诱发长脊髓的诱发电位，以及神经处理（例如反射测试）。此外，电生理措施可以预测功能结果，从而为临床研究提供康复计划和治疗干预措施。结论基于电生理技术的客观，定量的感觉，运动和自主神经功能的测量方法可用于指导和改善未来的SCI试验。作为临床结果指标的补充，电生理记录可以改善SCI诊断和患者分层，以及检测有利事件和不利事件。专门制定的电生理措施可用于表征SCI的地形和完整性，并揭示病变下方的神经元完整性，这是任何介入试验成功的前提。关于电生理工具有效性的进一步验证，