title: Lowered electroencephalographic spectral edge frequency predicts the presence of cerebral white matter injury in premature infants.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Current methods for early identification of cerebral white matter injury in the premature infant at the bedside are inadequate. This study investigated the utility of advanced spectral analysis of the neonatal electroencephalogram (EEG) in the early diagnosis of white matter injury in the premature infant. The critical measurement used, suggested largely by previous studies in animal models, was the spectral edge frequency (SEF), calculated here as the frequency below which 90% of the power in the EEG exists.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifty-nine very low birth weight infants (87% of eligible infants) had electrodes placed over the central and parietal regions (C3, P3, C4, and P4 sites according to the 10-20 international system) for the collection of EEG amplitude, intensity, and SEF. All averaged signals were analyzed off-line using software (Chart Analyzer; BrainZ Instruments, Auckland, NZ). All infants had a magnetic resonance imaging scan at term to identify the presence and severity of white matter injury.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There was no significant difference between conventional EEG amplitude and intensity for infants with or without evidence of white matter injury. However, premature infants with increasingly severe white matter injury had progressively lower SEFs compared with infants who did not exhibit white matter injury.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These data suggest that SEF-based measures are useful for defining the presence and severity of white matter injury at the bedside.
authors.affiliation: Murdoch Children's Research Institute and Royal Women's and Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, Australia. indert@cryptic.rch.unimelb.edu.au
authors.forename: Terrie E
authors.initials: TE
authors.lastname: Inder
authors.forename: Liz
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Buckland
authors.forename: Christopher E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: Carole
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Spencer
authors.forename: Mark I
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Gunning
authors.forename: Brian A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Darlow
authors.forename: Joseph J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Volpe
authors.forename: Peter D
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Gluckman
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001927:Brain Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004569:Electroencephalography; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007235:Infant, Premature, Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D019102:Infant, Very Low Birth Weight; D002546:Ischemic Attack, Transient / Q000175:diagnosis; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D012815:Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted