Amplitude-integrated electroencephalography as an additional research method in newborns with seizures

Abstract

Objective: to compare the  methods of electroencephalography (EEG) and  amplitude-integrated electroencephalography (aEEG), related technical features, their clinical application in newborns  at the intensive care unit, as well as a correlation between aEEG and other diagnostic methods (neurological status, neurosonography).Material and methods. Fifty-two newborns were examined who mainly born at full-term or had an initial degree of prematurity. In 29 infants, seizures were recorded, which were noted 1–5 times. An EEG was performed  within 107.7±32.7 minutes followed by further software aEEG processing.Results. While analyzing aEEG, significant differences were found among the indices of delta 2 activity denoted as a percentage in premature vs. full-term infants relative to other rhythms. It was shown that prevalence of high-amplitude delta 2 activity throughout entire recording presented as percentage was higher in infants with vs. without seizures.Conclusion. It was demonstrated that aEEG clarifies and supplements the data obtained with routine EEG, and can be used not only for conducting continuous monitoring of neonatal brain functions, but also as an additional program to a standard EEG study. The method has a great potential for specifying diagnosis and further neonatal neurological support at intensive care units.