Independent risk factors for seizures in critically ill patients on continuous EEG

The objective of this study was to characterize the independent risk factors for seizures in critically ill patients monitored with continuous EEG (cEEG).

We retrospectively investigated variables associated with cEEG seizures, first in the entire cohort of 156 patients and, subsequently, in the subgroup without seizures in the first 30 minutes of monitoring.

Seizures were observed in 19.2% of recordings, and in 50% of these, seizures occurred in the first 30 minutes. In the entire cohort, epilepsy, acute seizures prior to cEEG, interictal epileptiform discharges (IEDs), lateralized periodic discharges (LPDs), and brief potentially ictal rhythmic discharges (BIRDs) were associated with a higher incidence of cEEG seizures, whereas coma, intravenous anaesthetic drugs, and generalized periodic discharges (GPDs) were associated with a lower incidence of seizures. On multivariate analysis, this association was maintained for acute seizures before cEEG (OR: 5.92) and IEDs (OR: 6.81). Excluding patients with seizures at the beginning of monitoring, acute seizures before cEEG, IEDs, LPDs, and BIRDs were associated with an increased risk of seizures. The presence of IEDs or LPDs in the first 30 minutes was associated with a 4.14-fold greater chance of seizures on cEEG. On multivariate analysis, acute seizures prior to recording (OR 7.29) and LPDs (OR: 5.38) remained associated with seizures on cEEG. Due to the sample size, BIRDs were not included in multivariate models.

Acute seizures prior to monitoring, IEDs, LPDs and BIRDs are important risk factors for cEEG seizures in critically ill patients.