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Published on: January 26, 2019
Prospective Study of 2 Bed Alarms for Detection of Nocturnal Seizures
Stephen Fulton1, Kate Van Poppel, Amy McGregor
11Division of Pediatric Neurology, Le Bonheur Comprehensive Epilepsy Program at Le Bonheur Children's Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA.
Insights
Nocturnal seizure alarms for epilepsy are a concern for parents. The Medpage ST-2 and MP5 bed alarms showed poor detection rates for nocturnal seizures in children, missing most events during sleep.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Neurology
- Epilepsy Monitoring
- Medical Device Technology
Background:
- Nocturnal seizures in children with epilepsy are a significant parental concern.
- Risk factors for sudden unexplained death in epilepsy include generalized tonic-clonic seizures and being in bed.
- A reliable device for detecting nighttime seizure activity is needed.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the effectiveness of Medpage bed alarm models (ST-2 and MP5) in detecting nocturnal seizures in children.
- To assess the ability of these alarms to detect various motor seizure types during sleep.
Main Methods:
- Fifteen children with epilepsy undergoing evaluation had standard video electroencephalography (EEG), cardiopulmonary, and nursing monitoring.
- Two Medpage bed alarm models (ST-2 and MP5) were used concurrently.
- Video EEG recordings were reviewed to identify all seizures and compare them with alarm data.
Main Results:
- A total of 69 seizures were recorded via video EEG across 15 patients.
- The ST-2 model failed to detect any nocturnal seizures.
- The MP5 alarm detected only 1 generalized tonic-clonic seizure out of 15 events in sleeping patients.
Conclusions:
- Current Medpage bed alarm models (ST-2 and MP5) demonstrate inadequate detection of nocturnal seizures in pediatric epilepsy patients.
- Further development is required for effective devices to monitor seizures during sleep.
Abstract:
For parents of children with epilepsy, seizures occurring in sleep are a major concern. Risk factors for sudden unexplained death in epilepsy patients include being in bed and generalized tonic-clonic seizures. A device for detecting nocturnal seizure activity would be valuable. Children with various seizure types undergoing evaluation had standard video electroencephalography (EEG), cardiopulmonary and nursing monitoring, and 1 of 2 models (ST-2 and MP5) of a Medpage bed alarm. The video EEG record was reviewed to detect any seizures missed by the bed alarms or caregivers. The ability of the bed alarms to detect motor seizures in general and specific seizure types was tested. In 15 patients, 69 seizures were recorded by video EEG. The ST-2 did not detect any nocturnal seizures. The MP5 alarm detected 1 of 15 in sleeping patients: a generalized tonic-clonic seizure. The Medpage seizure alarms do not appear to adequately detect nocturnal seizures.
