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Do sleep-deprived EEG recordings reflect spike index as found in full-night EEG recordings?
Pål G Larsson1, Tatiana Evsiukova, Frans Brockmeier
1Department of Neurosurgery, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway. pal.gunnar.larsson@ous-hf.no
Insights
Morning sleep-deprived EEGs effectively capture epileptiform activity in children with neurodevelopmental disorders, comparable to full-night recordings. However, morning nap EEGs may have higher failure rates due to sleep onset difficulties.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Pediatric Neurology
- Clinical Electrophysiology
Background:
- Children with neurodevelopmental disorders often exhibit epileptiform activity on sleep electroencephalograms (EEGs).
- Quantifying epileptiform activity using the spike index (SI) is crucial for diagnosis and management.
- Comparing different EEG recording durations and timings can optimize diagnostic yield.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the spike index (SI) derived from full-night sleep EEGs with that from sleep-deprived morning EEGs in children.
- To evaluate the feasibility and reliability of using short, sleep-deprived morning EEG recordings.
Main Methods:
- Ambulatory EEG equipment was used for 24-hour recordings in 16 children (ages 7-12) with neurodevelopmental disorders.
- Participants underwent a specific sleep schedule: waking at 3:00 AM and attempting sleep from 7:30 AM.
- Spike index (SI) was calculated for both full-night and morning nap EEG recordings to quantify epileptiform activity.
Main Results:
- Spike indices calculated from morning nap EEGs were comparable to those from full-night recordings.
- Two patients failed to fall asleep during the morning recording period.
- One recording was excluded due to technical issues, indicating a potential for higher failure rates in morning recordings.
Conclusions:
- Sleep-deprived morning EEG recordings can provide a comparable measure of epileptiform activity to full-night EEGs in pediatric neurodevelopmental disorders.
- Morning EEG recordings may be a viable, shorter alternative for assessing epileptiform activity.
- Strategies to manage sleep onset difficulties are needed to improve the success rate of morning EEG recordings.
Abstract:
The sleep EEGs of many children with neurodevelopmental disorders reveal epileptiform activity. The aim of this study was to compare spike index (SI) in full-night recordings with SI in sleep-deprived EEGs in the morning; EEGs were obtained over 24 hours using ambulatory equipment. Sixteen children between the ages of 7 and 12 years were included in the study. They had to wake up at 3:00 AM and go to sleep again at 7:30 AM. Epileptiform activity was quantified, and SIs of full-night and morning recordings were compared. Two patients did not fall asleep. In one recording there was a technical problem that made calculations impossible. SIs calculated from EEGs obtained during a short nap in the morning were comparable to those calculated from full-night recordings. There seems to be a higher failure rate during morning recordings because of patients not falling asleep.
