title: Unusual EEG patterns in coma, and their evolution.
abstract: A 23-year-old chronic asthmatic patient is reported who showed successively four different EEG patterns within a 7 day period of unconsciousness following cardio-respiratory arrest. The initial record was dominated by alpha activity, then beta activity supervened, to be followed by spindle components. Finally an isoelectric tracing occurred before death. A computer file search for all cases of unusual EEG coma patterns was carried out. It failed to reveal any other patient with a similar sequence, but various types of evolution were noted. Such features are seen in only a very small percentage of comatose patients, and in the context of cardio-respiratory arrest are almost invariably fatal.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000513:Alpha Rhythm; D001249:Asthma / Q000150:complications; D001611:Beta Rhythm; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003128:Coma / Q000503:physiopathology*; D004569:Electroencephalography; D005260:Female; D006323:Heart Arrest / Q000150:complications; D006801:Humans; D011379:Prognosis