The yield of electroencephalography in syncope

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Diagnostic Imaging

Background:

• Syncope, a transient loss of consciousness due to cerebral hypoperfusion, often requires thorough clinical evaluation.
• Electroencephalography (EEG) serves as a crucial investigational tool in differentiating syncope from other conditions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the diagnostic value of electroencephalography (EEG) in patients presenting with syncope.
• To analyze EEG findings in a cohort of syncope patients.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 288 syncope patient EEG recordings from January 2014 to January 2016.
• Classification of EEG findings into normal, epileptiform discharges, background slowing, focal slowing, asymmetries, and low amplitude.
• Analysis of EEG results stratified by age and gender.

Main Results:

• The majority of EEGs (70.5%) were normal; however, abnormal findings included low amplitude tracing (16.3%), epileptiform discharges (4.5%), and slowing (2.8%-2.4%).
• No significant differences in EEG findings were observed based on age or gender.
• Epileptiform discharges were noted in 4.5% of patients.

Conclusions:

• EEG is a valuable supplementary method in the clinical diagnosis of syncope, epilepsy, and non-epileptic seizures.
• While clinical diagnosis is primary, EEG provides additional data for differential diagnosis in syncope.