Usefulness of Video-EEG monitoring in patients with drugresistant epilepsy

Abstract

Objective To evaluate the characteristics of patients on whom long-term Video-EEG monitoring is performed in a specialist centre and to assess its suitability to study refractory epilepsy patients. Methods A prospective analysis and study of Video-EEG monitoring was performed in a series of 100 refractory epilepsy patients from a single centre. The analysis included demographic data, the time until the first seizure, the methods used to provoke seizures, and the outcome (usefulness, change in the management, pharmacological and surgical improvement). A subgroup analysis based on diagnosis was performed. Results The study was performed mainly on young people (mean 34.4 years) and the fi rst seizure appeared in a mean of 30 hours, requiring most of the patients to withdraw the medication. Nevertheless, there were no cases of status epilepticus. The usefulness of the test was high in all the groups. The management was changed in 65% of the patients with pharmacological and surgical improvement. Conclusion Long-term Video-EEG monitoring is a suitable test to study refractory epilepsy patients. The main problem in our country is accesibility