The diagnostic value of initial video-EEG monitoring in children--review of 1000 cases.
OBJECTIVE
We retrospectively reviewed the clinical utility of initial video-EEG monitoring in a series of 1000 children suspected of epileptic disorders.


METHODS
The ages of patients (523 boys and 477 girls) ranged from 1 month to 17 years (median age: 7 years). The mean length of stay was 1.5 days (range: 1-10 days). Outcomes were classified as: 'useful-epileptic' (successful classification of epilepsy), 'useful-nonepileptic' (demonstration of nonepileptic habitual events), 'uneventful' (normal EEG without habitual events captured), and 'inconclusive' (inability to clarify the nature of habitual events with abnormal interictal EEG findings).


RESULTS
A total of 315 studies were considered 'useful-epileptic'; 219 'useful-nonepileptic'; 224 'uneventful'; 242 'inconclusive'. Longer monitoring was associated with higher rate of a study classified as 'useful-epileptic' in all age groups (Chi square test: p<0.001). In addition, longer monitoring was associated with lower rate of a study classified as 'inconclusive' in adolescences (p<0.001). Approximately half of the children with successful classification of epilepsy were assigned a specific diagnosis of epilepsy syndrome according to the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) classification. We found only 22 children with ictal EEG showing a seizure onset purely originating from a unilateral temporal region.


CONCLUSIONS
Video-EEG monitoring may fail to capture habitual episodes. To maximize the utility of studies in the future, a video-EEG monitoring longer than 3 days should be considered in selected children such as adolescences with habitual events occurring on a less than daily basis. We recognize a reasonable clinical utility of the current ILAE classification in the present study. It may not be common to identify children with pure unilateral temporal lobe epilepsy solely based on video-EEG monitoring.
Asano
Eishi
E
Department of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital of Michigan, Detroit Medical Center, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48201, USA. eishi@pet.wayne.edu
Pawlak
Carol
C
Shah
Aashit
A
Shah
Jagdish
J
Luat
Aimee F
AF
Ahn-Ewing
Judy
J
Chugani
Harry T
HT
D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004569:Electroencephalography; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D012016:Reference Values; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014741:Video Recording