A Study of the Prognostic Value of Initial EEG in Children with Acute Encephalitis

Abstract

Abstract Objective to assess the short-term prognostic aid of the initial Electroencephalography (EEG) in patients with acute viral encephalitis. Methods An observational follow up study including 30 children with acute non-herpetic viral encephalitis. Cases were subjected to full history taking, examination and an EEG recording obtained during hospital admission. Functional outcome assessment was done using the Liverpool outcome score during admission and repeated again at 3 months post discharge. Results The mean age of patients was 2.8 ±3.5 years old, with ages ranging from 6 months to 15 years. 73% of the cases were male. Clinical seizures were observed in 96.7% of the cases and EEG was abnormal in 26.7%. The Liverpool outcome scores were significantly lower at discharge and even more so after 3 months in cases with epileptiform activity on EEG. Abnormalities of EEG background did not significantly impact the Liverpool outcome score of the patients. Conclusion The presence of EEG epileptiform discharges is associated with a worse clinical outcome in children with acute encephalitis. The same cannot be said for abnormalities of EEG background.