Success of ambulatory EEG in children.

SUMMARY: Continuous ambulatory EEG (AEEG) monitoring is a method used to (1) determine seizure type and location of seizure onset, and (2) to discriminate between epileptic and nonepileptic events. This study was performed to determine how successful AEEG would be in recording seizures when the events were reported to occur at least 3 days per week. AEEGs of children who were patients at Children's Hospital Oakland between December 1993 and June 1997 were reviewed to see why the recordings were performed and to determine whether typical seizures were recorded. Children who had seizurelike events needed to have typical spells 3 days or more per week to justify obtaining AEEG. Most AEEGs were performed to discriminate between epileptic and nonepileptic seizures. A total of 167 children underwent AEEG recording. Ten were recorded to determine whether they were having frequent subtle seizures or frequent interictal epileptiform discharges. The remaining 157 patients had discrete events. A total of 140 children (89%) had their typical spells recorded. A total of 107 of these children (76%) had nonepileptic events. Average duration of recording was 1.9 days. AEEG is very successful in recording children's seizurelike events when parents report events occur at least 3 days per week. The procedure is well tolerated and there are few technical problems that prolong recording time.