title: An EEG severity index of traumatic brain injury.
abstract: EEG spectral analyses were conducted from 19 scalp locations for patients with mild (n=40), moderate (n=25), and severe (n=43) traumatic brain injury (TBI), 15 days to 4 years after injury. Severity of TBI was judged by emergency hospital admission records (Glasgow Coma Score and duration of coma and amnesia). Highest-loading EEG variables on each factor that differed significantly between severe and mild TBI by univariate t-test were entered into a multivariate discriminant analysis, yielding 16 variables. Discriminant analysis between mild and severe TBI groups showed classification accuracy of 96.39%, sensitivity 95.45%, and specificity 97.44%. The EEG discriminant score also measured intermediate severity in moderate TBI patients. Results were cross-validated in 503 VA patients. Significant correlations between EEG discriminant scores, emergency admission measures, and post-trauma neuropsychological test scores validated the discriminant function as an index of severity of injury and a classifier of the extremes of severity.
authors.affiliation: Bay Pines Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Bay Pines, Florida 33744, USA.
authors.forename: R W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Thatcher
authors.forename: D M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: North
authors.forename: R T
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: Curtin
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Walker
authors.forename: C J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Biver
authors.forename: J F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Gomez
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Salazar
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001925:Brain Damage, Chronic / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D004569:Electroencephalography; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005583:Fourier Analysis; D015600:Glasgow Coma Scale; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012815:Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted