Study of EEG Findings in Patients Referred from Psychiatrists

Abstract

EEG is not so commonly used in patients attending psychiatry department. It is predominantly required to rule out any organic cause behind the behavioral changes. Purpose of this study was to assess the referred cases from psychiatry department and determine the clinical factors associated with an abnormal EEG in patients with psychiatric problem. We retrospectively reviewed and analyzed the data of all the cases referred to EEG lab. Introduction:Electroencephalography (EEG) is the recording of electrical activity along the scalp produced by the firing of neurons within the brain. In clinical contexts, EEG refers to the recording of the brain's spontaneous electrical activity over a short period of time, usually 20-40 minutes, as recorded from multiple electrodes placed on the scalp. In neurology, the main diagnostic application of EEG is in the case of epilepsy, as epileptic activity can create clear abnormalities on a standard EEG study. A secondary clinical use of EEG is in the diagnosis of coma, encephalopathy, and brain death. 1

A study on EEG findings: An Experience from a Tertiary Care Center of Nepal

“…However, spike and wave where reported in Chowdhary et alas common EEG pattern. 8 The majority had EEG abnormality in our study and that of Shrestha et al 7 However, Bhagat et al reported normal EEG in the majority which was done among the epileptics. 9 This difference is expected as EEG is a cross sectional record of the brain activity and 50% of patients with epilepsy can have normal EEG, and therefore, does not exclude epilepsy.…”

“…5 , 6 Similar finding was reported in various studies. [7][8][9][10] Studies suggest male at higher risk for seizure and epilepsy. 5 This explains the higher proportion of male in our study for EEG evaluation which was supported by different studies.…”

“…9 On the contrary, a study from Bangladesh reported more localization related epilepsy than generalized. 8 Studies from different countries have shown the range of patients with generalized seizures as 50-69%, and partial seizures as 31-50%. …”

A Retrospective Observational Study Of Eeg Findings in a Tertiary Care Hospital, Dhaka, Bangladesh

“…13 EEG referral from psychiatrists reported abnormality in 40 % of the study population in Bangladesh, 46.47% in our study, 17.6% in the study by O'Sullivan, 11.3% in the study by Lam but only 8.2% in the African study. [14][15][16][17] This disparity could be due to variation in sample size, sample type as well as interpreter variability. Different studies showed few or no positive finding in EEG in psychiatric conditions, including ours.…”

“…15 However, spike and wave were reported in Chowdhary et al as common EEG pattern. 14 In a series of 2648 patients with the unquestionable diagnosis of the seizure by Kershman et al, 46.5% had focal changes while 15.0% had a diffuse generalized abnormality in their scalp recordings of EEG. 30 In our study, EEG was done in 245 patients in which EEG was normal in 64.1% patients and abnormal in 35.9% patients, of which 19.2% had hemisphere and 10.6% had a generalized epileptic discharge.…”