EEG University

Effect of rapid EEG on anti-seizure medication usage

Epileptic Disorders | Accepted 21 May 2022

To study how early diagnoses from rapid EEG (rEEG) during the initial evaluation of patients with suspected non-convulsive seizures correlates with changes in anti-seizure medication (ASM) use. Of 100 patients, SZ were found in 5%, HEP in 14%, and no epileptiform/ictal activity in 81%. Forty-six percent of patients had received ASM(s) before rEEG. While 84% of HEP/SZ cases were started or continued on ASMs, only 51% of NL/SL cases were started or continued on ASMs after rEEG (x2 [1, n=100] = 7.09, p=0.008). Thirty-seven patients had received sedation (i.e., propofol or dexmedetomidine) prior to rEEG. In 15 patients (13/30 NL/SL, 2/7 HEP/SZ), sedation was discontinued following rEEG.