Utility of continuous EEG in children with acute traumatic brain injury

Acute Seizures-Work-Up and Management in Children

Seizures are common in the pediatric population; however, most children do not go on to develop epilepsy later in life. Selecting appropriate diagnostic modalities to determine an accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment as well as with counseling families regarding the etiology and prognosis of seizures, is essential. This article will review updated definitions of seizures, including provoked versus unprovoked, as well as the International League Against Epilepsy operational definition of epilepsy. A variety of specific acute symptomatic seizures requiring special consideration are discussed, along with neonatal seizures and seizure mimics, which are common in pediatric populations.

Continuous Electroencephalography Monitoring in Critically Ill Infants and Children

Continuous video electroencephalography (CEEG) monitoring of critically ill infants and children has expanded rapidly in recent years. Indications for CEEG include evaluation of patients with altered mental status, characterization of paroxysmal events, and detection of electrographic seizures, including monitoring of patients with limited neurological examination or conditions that put them at high risk for electrographic seizures (e.g., cardiac arrest or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation cannulation). Depending on the inclusion criteria and clinical characteristics of the population studied, the percentage of pediatric patients with electrographic seizures varies from 7% to 46% and with electrographic status epilepticus from 1% to 23%. There is also evidence that epileptiform and background CEEG patterns may provide important information about prognosis in certain clinical populations. Quantitative EEG techniques are emerging as a tool to enhance the value of CEEG to provide real-time bedside data for management and prognosis. Continued research is needed to understand the clinical value of seizure detection and identification of other CEEG patterns on the outcomes of critically ill infants and children.

Neuroimaging of the Injured Pediatric Brain: Methods and New Lessons

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a significant public health problem in the United States, especially for children and adolescents. Current epidemiological data estimate over 600,000 patients younger than 20 years are treated for TBI in emergency rooms annually. While many patients experience a full recovery, for others there can be long-lasting cognitive, neurological, psychological, and behavioral disruptions. TBI in youth can disrupt ongoing brain development and create added family stress during a formative period. The neuroimaging methods used to assess brain injury improve each year, providing researchers a more detailed characterization of the injury and recovery process. In this review, we cover current imaging methods used to quantify brain disruption post-injury, including structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), diffusion MRI, functional MRI, resting state fMRI, and magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), with brief coverage of other methods, including electroencephalography (EEG), single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), and positron emission tomography (PET). We include studies focusing on pediatric moderate-severe TBI from 2 months post-injury and beyond. While the morbidity of pediatric TBI is considerable, continuing advances in imaging methods have the potential to identify new treatment targets that can lead to significant improvements in outcome.

Continuous electroencephalography in pediatric traumatic brain injury: Seizure characteristics and outcomes

BACKGROUND

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major cause of pediatric morbidity and mortality. Secondary injury that occurs as a result of a direct impact plays a crucial role in patient prognosis. The guidelines for the management of severe TBI target treatment of secondary injury. Posttraumatic seizure, one of the secondary injury sequelae, contributes to further damage to the injured brain. Continuous electroencephalography (cEEG) helps detect both clinical and subclinical seizure, which aids early detection and prompt treatment.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between cEEG findings in pediatric traumatic brain injury and neurocognitive/functional outcomes.

METHODS

This study focuses on a subgroup of a larger prospective parent study that examined children admitted to a level-1 trauma hospital. The subgroup included sixteen children admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) who received cEEG monitoring. Characteristics included demographics, cEEG reports, and antiseizure medication. We also examined outcome scores at the time of discharge and 4-6weeks postdischarge using the Glasgow Outcome Scale - Extended Pediatrics and center-based speech pathology neurocognitive/functional evaluation scores.

RESULTS

Sixteen patients were included in this study. Patients with severe TBI made up the majority of those that received cEEG monitoring. Nonaccidental trauma was the most frequent TBI etiology (75%), and subdural hematoma was the most common lesion diagnosed by CT scan (75%). Fifteen patients received antiseizure medication, and levetiracetam was the medication of choice. Four patients (25%) developed seizures during PICU admission, and 3 patients had subclinical seizures that were detected by cEEG. One of these patients also had both a clinical and subclinical seizure. Nonaccidental trauma was an etiology of TBI in all patients with seizures. Characteristics of a nonreactive pattern, severe/burst suppression, and lack of sleep architecture, on cEEG, were associated with poor neurocognitive/functional outcome.

CONCLUSION

Continuous electroencephalography demonstrated a pattern that associated seizures and poor outcomes in patients with moderate to severe traumatic brain injury, particularly in a subgroup of patients with nonaccidental trauma. Best practice should include institution-based TBI cEEG protocols, which may detect seizure activity early and promote outcomes. Future studies should include examination of individual cEEG characteristics to help improve outcomes in pediatric TBI.

Early Posttraumatic Seizures in the Pediatric Population

Early posttraumatic seizure is a paramount clinical issue in pediatric traumatic brain injury patients as it is a common occurrence, yet an understudied entity at present. Recent literature recognizes several posttraumatic seizure subtypes based on time of presentation and the underlying pathophysiology: impact, immediate, delayed early, and late/posttraumatic epilepsy. Appropriate classification of pediatric posttraumatic seizure subtypes can be helpful for appropriate management and prognosis. This review will focus on early posttraumatic seizures, and the subtypes of early posttraumatic seizure. Incidence, risk factors, diagnosis, seizure semiology, status epilepticus, management, risk of recurrence, and prognosis were reviewed. The integration of continuous electroencephalographic (EEG) monitoring into pediatric traumatic brain injury management may hold the key to better characterizing and understanding pediatric early posttraumatic seizures. Topics for future research pertaining to pediatric early posttraumatic seizure are identified.

Evaluation of vestibulo-ocular reflex in patients with damage to the central nervous system (GCS score 5-3)

PURPOSE

The aim of our study was to evaluate the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) in patients with severe damage to the central nervous system (CNS) in the diagnosis of brain death and survival prognosis.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

The study was conducted in 20 patients with extensive primary central nervous system damage against spontaneous intracranial haemorrhage or craniocerebral trauma and secondary central nervous system damage as a result of cardiac arrest with Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score from 3 to 5 treated in the Intensive Care Unit, University Hospital in Bialystok. For labyrinth stimulation we used water at 30°C, recording the reactions with ENG appliance. Records were analyzed in Nathanson-Bergman four-level scale. The first assessment was performed on the second day after the trauma and subsequently the assessments were repeated at 2-day intervals.

RESULTS

Of the 20 patients studied, the reflex was recorded in nine, which accounted for 45%. In the remaining 11 (55%) patients the reflex was not reported in any test and all of them died. Among patients with recorded VOR, five died and four survived.

CONCLUSIONS

The results of our study show the usefulness of performing the vestibulo-ocular test in patients with severe brain injury to predict their survival.

Multimodal monitoring in the pediatric intensive care unit: new modalities and informatics challenges

We review several newer modalities to monitor the brain in children with acute neurologic disease in the pediatric intensive care unit, such as partial brain tissue oxygen tension (PbtO2), jugular venous oxygen saturation (SjvO2), near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS), thermal diffusion measurement of cerebral blood flow, cerebral microdialysis, and EEG. We then discuss the informatics challenges to acquire, consolidate, analyze, and display the data. Acquisition includes multiple data types: discrete, waveform, and continuous. Consolidation requires device interoperability and time synchronization. Analysis could include pressure reactivity index and quantitative EEG. Displays should communicate the patient's current status, longitudinal and trend information, and critical alarms.

Continuous electroencephalography for seizures and status epilepticus

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

To discuss the use of continuous video-electroencephalographic (cEEG) monitoring among critically ill children at risk for electrographic seizures and status epilepticus.

RECENT FINDINGS

Recent reports have demonstrated the growing, but heterogeneous, use of cEEG monitoring among North American pediatric institutions, and provided evidence for the high prevalence of subclinical seizures, particularly among encephalopathic patients with acute brain injury. Increasing seizure burden and status epilepticus have been shown to be independently associated with worse short-term and long-term outcomes.

SUMMARY

Certain high-risk children frequently experience electrographic seizures and status epilepticus, often without clinical signs, necessitating the use of cEEG monitoring for their diagnosis and management. Although an increasing electrographic seizure burden and status epilepticus are independently associated with worse outcome, further studies are needed to determine whether aggressive use of antiepileptic drugs to reduce seizure burden can improve outcome.

Predictors of acute symptomatic seizures after intracranial hemorrhage in infants

OBJECTIVE

To determine the prevalence of acute symptomatic seizures in infants with supratentorial intracranial hemorrhage, to identify potential risk factors, and to determine the effect of acute seizures on long-term morbidity and mortality.

DESIGN

Children less than 24 months with intracranial hemorrhage were identified from a neurocritical care database. All patients who received seizure prophylaxis beginning at admission were included in the study. Risk factors studied were gender, etiology, location of hemorrhage, seizure(s) on presentation, and the presence of parenchymal injury. Acute clinical and electrographic seizures were identified from hospital medical records. Subsequent development of late seizures was determined based on clinical information from patients' latest follow-up.

SETTING AND PATIENTS

Patients with idiopathic neonatal intracranial hemorrhage, premature infants, and those with prior history of seizures were excluded from analysis. Seventy-two infants met inclusion criteria.

INTERVENTIONS

None.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS

Forty percent of infants had acute symptomatic seizures. The prevalence was similar regardless of whether etiology of hemorrhage was traumatic or nontraumatic. Seizures on presentation and parenchymal injury were independent risk factors of acute seizures (p = 0.001 and p = 0.006, respectively). Younger children and women were also at higher risk (p < 0.05). Twenty percent had electrographic-only seizures, and those with parenchymal injury trended toward an increased risk (p < 0.1). Acute seizures were not predictive of mortality, but nearly twice as many patients with acute seizures developed late seizures when compared with those without. Electrographic seizures and parenchymal injury were also predictive of development of late seizures (p < 0.001 and p = 0.013, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

Despite seizure prophylaxis, infants with supratentorial intracranial hemorrhage are at high risk for acute symptomatic seizures. This is regardless of the etiology of hemorrhage. Younger patients, women, patients with parenchymal injury, and patients presenting with seizure are most likely to develop acute seizures. Although the benefits of seizure prophylaxis have not been studied in this specific population, these results suggest that it is an important component of acute care following intracranial hemorrhage.

Non-accidental trauma in pediatric patients: a review of epidemiology, pathophysiology, diagnosis and treatment

Non-accidental trauma (NAT) is a leading cause of childhood traumatic injury and death in the United States. It is estimated that 1,400 children died from maltreatment in the United States in 2002 and abusive head trauma (AHT) accounted for 80% of these deaths. This review examines the epidemiology and risk factors for NAT as well as the general presentation and required medical work up of abused children. In addition, potential algorithms for recognizing cases of abuse are reviewed as well as outcomes in children with NAT and potential neurosurgical interventions which may be required. Finally, the evidence for seizure prophylaxis in this population is addressed.