Electrographic Seizures in Adults: Recognition and Examples

Abstract

Continuous EEG (cEEG) monitoring is used increasingly to assess brain function in critically ill patients. One of the main indications for CEEG is to detect electrographic seizures. Seizures are frequently detected by continuous EEG monitoring in the intensive care unit (ICU) setting, particularly in the neurological ICU. Most of these seizures are nonconvulsive and clinically subtle [1]. The reported risk of seizures as a complication or as the principal reason for ICU admission is only 3.3 % [2]. But the frequency of seizures in ICU patients is considerably higher. The frequency of seizures detected by EEG monitoring in adult ICU patients is in the range of 8–34 % [3–5], depending on which patient population is studied.