title: Utility of CT-compatible EEG electrodes in critically ill children.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Electroencephalographic monitoring is being used with increasing frequency in critically ill children who may require frequent and sometimes urgent brain CT scans. Standard metallic disk EEG electrodes commonly produce substantial imaging artifact, and they must be removed and later reapplied when CT scans are indicated.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To determine whether conductive plastic electrodes caused artifact that limited CT interpretation.
  
  
  METHODS
  We describe a retrospective cohort of 13 consecutive critically ill children who underwent 17 CT scans with conductive plastic electrodes during 1 year. CT images were evaluated by a pediatric neuroradiologist for artifact presence, type and severity.
  
  
  RESULTS
  All CT scans had excellent quality images without artifact that impaired CT interpretation except for one scan in which improper wire placement resulted in artifact.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Conductive plastic electrodes do not cause artifact limiting CT scan interpretation and may be used in critically ill children to permit concurrent electroencephalographic monitoring and CT imaging.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Neurology and Pediatrics, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA, abend@email.chop.edu.
authors.forename: Nicholas S
authors.initials: NS
authors.lastname: Abend
authors.forename: Dennis J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Dlugos
authors.forename: Xiaowei
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Erin S
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Schwartz
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D016477:Artifacts; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003422:Critical Care; D016638:Critical Illness; D004569:Electroencephalography; D004867:Equipment Design; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D010969:Plastics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
chemical_list: D010969:Plastics