Conventional (continuous) EEG monitoring in the NICU.

Abstract

Conventional EEG is being used more frequently in NICUs in the U.S. with the advent of therapeutic hypothermia and the growth of neurocritical care intensivists & units. Historical applications have included assessing encephalopathy, seizure evaluation and prognosis. Past reluctance or limitation of the use in the NICU are receding with the digitization of EEG recordings and increasing interest in the neonatal brain. Continuous EEG monitoring is expanding the potential for its application as a brain monitoring tool to stratify initial injury severity, monitor seizure response to treatment, and detect sentinel neurologic events in the NICU, in addition to guiding neurotherapeutic options. The progression of the EEG background after an acute insult can also increase its prognostic specificity and provide another immediate marker of NICU neurologic outcome. The future of EEG monitoring in the NICU holds many possibilities and may greatly advance the new field of neuroprotection in the NICU.