The usefulness of electroencephalography in curarized newborns

Curare and other muscle relaxants are being used with increasing frequency in the management of infants who are mechanically ventilated for severe respiratory distress. Neurological evaluation of these paralyzed newborns is difficult and neonatal convulsions may go unrecognized. The present study includes 5 curarized infants in whom neurological impairment was suspected because of complicated pregnancies and perinatal asphyxia. All showed very abnormal EEGs with ongoing paroxysmal activity in the absence of clinical seizures or a severely depressed record. In two of these infants an improvement in the values of the blood-gases coincided with the administration of diazepam. In curarized infants the electroencephalogram is of importance in the evaluation of the background activity, the detection of convulsive brain activity, and in the management of anticonvulsive therapy.