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Assessing the Utility of Electroencephalography for Staring Episodes in Children with Autism
1Clinical Neurophysiology Department, Children's Health Ireland at Temple Street.
Insights
Electroencephalography (EEG) may not be useful for diagnosing epilepsy in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) who experience staring spells. Many EEG results in this group show abnormalities that are not related to epilepsy, leading to potential misdiagnosis.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Neurology
- Neurodevelopmental Disorders
Background:
- Staring episodes are common in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).
- Epilepsy is a concern in children with ASD, and electroencephalography (EEG) is often used to investigate seizures.
- The utility of EEG for evaluating staring episodes in this population is unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the diagnostic value of EEG in children with ASD presenting with staring episodes.
- To determine if EEG findings in this context correlate with epilepsy diagnosis.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective review of EEG studies.
- Analysis of a pediatric cohort from Ireland (2010-2017).
- Inclusion criteria: children with ASD referred for staring episodes.
Main Results:
- 120 EEG tests were reviewed.
- 59.1% of EEGs were normal, 22.5% abnormal, 16.6% borderline, and 1.6% limited.
- Background abnormalities (22.5%) and interictal epileptiform abnormalities (16.6%) were noted, but absence seizures were not captured.
Conclusions:
- Interictal EEG in children with ASD may frequently yield false positive results.
- EEG investigation for staring episodes in children with ASD appears to have limited diagnostic utility for epilepsy.
Abstract:
Aim We aim to assess whether electroencephalography (EEG) has a justified role in assessing staring episodes in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD); investigating for possible diagnosis of epilepsy. Methods This is a retrospective study on an Irish paediatric cohort. We reviewed EEG studies performed on children with ASD referred specifically for staring episodes to Children's Health Ireland at Temple Street between 2010 and 2017. Results There are 120 EEG tests; labelled as follows: 59.1%: normal, 22.5%: abnormal, 16.6%: borderline and 1.6%: 'limited study'. Background abnormalities are seen in 22.5% and interictal epileptiform abnormalities are seen in 16.6%. Absence seizures are captured in none. Conclusions Interictal EEG in ASD patients often yields false positive findings. EEG for investigating staring episodes in children with ASD are probably not useful.
