The relationship between the onset of electrographic seizure activity after birth and the time of cerebral injury in utero.
In the fetal lamb model of hypoxic-ischaemic injury, the insult is followed by EEG depression, after which seizures emerge at 7-13 hours. We explored the relationship between the emergence of electrographic seizures and our estimate of the time of the cerebral injury in nine babies who underwent continuous video-EEG monitoring from soon after birth. Babies with prelabour insults had their first seizures before 12 hours of age, whereas those whose insult was peripartum had seizure onset at 18-20 hours of age. EEG seizure onset time could have important clinical and medico-legal applications, and be related to the time or severity of the insult, or both.
Filan
P
P
Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Nightingale Birth Centre and Department of Neurophysiology, King's College Hospital, London, UK.
Boylan
G B
GB
Chorley
G
G
Davies
A
A
Fox
G F
GF
Pressler
R
R
Rennie
J M
JM
D001720:Birth Injuries / Q000150:complications*; D002545:Brain Ischemia / Q000209:etiology*; D004569:Electroencephalography / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D005315:Fetal Diseases; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome; D012640:Seizures / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology*; D013997:Time Factors