Performing continuous EEG (cEEG) monitoring in patients who have experienced a subarachnoid hemorrhage can help predict the occurrence of delayed cerebral ischemia (DCI) according to a prospective study of 103 patients who underwent cEEG.
- DCI is a common complication of subarachnoid hemorrhage.
- Retrospective studies have suggested a link between cEEG and DCI but the association needed to be confirmed with a prospective evaluation.
- Continuous EEG monitoring involved an average of 7.7 days duration, and a EEG alarm occurred in about 96% of patients with subsequent DCI but in only 19.6% of patients without the ischemic complication.
- Among patients who had a EEG alarm, late onset epileptiform abnormalities were most likely to predict DCI.
Rosenthal ES, Biswal S, Zafar SF, et al. Continuous electroencephalography predicts delayed cerebral ischemia after subarachnoid hemorrhage: a prospective study of diagnostic accuracy [published online ahead of print Apr 16, 2018]. Ann Neurol. doi: 10.1002/ana.25232
