PURPOSE: To investigate the EEG profile and its contribution for diagnosis and management in a group of patients with a clinical diagnosis of idiopathic generalized epilepsy (IGE) who were referred to a tertiary hospital. METHODS: We retrospectively studied clinical and EEG features of 180 consecutive patients with IGE. Eighty patients were diagnosed with juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME), 35 had absence epilepsy (AE), 13 had generalized tonic-clonic seizures on awakening (GTCS-A), 28 had generalized tonic-clonic seizures only (TCS), and 24 had adult-onset idiopathic generalized epilepsy (AIGE). The EEGs were classified in typical (synchronous generalized spike or polyspikes-and-wave discharges with normal background), atypical (with clear focalities or asymmetries), and normal. RESULTS: The 493 EEG exams were analyzed. The first EEG was normal in 45% of the 180 patients, and only 33% had typical abnormalities. AE had a higher proportion of typical examinations and needed fewer sequential examinations to register a typical abnormality compared with the other groups. By contrast, the serial EEG profile of TCS and AIGE showed a higher proportion of normal and atypical EEG findings. CONCLUSIONS: These findings support previous recommendations that IGE patients should be treated with appropriate therapy based on clinical history. Waiting for a typical abnormal EEG pattern can generate an unacceptable delay in the correct diagnosis and treatment of these patients. In patients with long-term epilepsy, the diagnosis may be difficult. Furthermore, serial EEGs can help to elucidate the syndromic diagnosis, especially in patients with TCS and AIGE.
PURPOSE: To investigate the EEG profile and its contribution for diagnosis and management in a group of patients with a clinical diagnosis of idiopathic generalized epilepsy (IGE) who were referred to a tertiary hospital. METHODS: We retrospectively studied clinical and EEG features of 180 consecutive patients with IGE. Eighty patients were diagnosed with juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME), 35 had absence epilepsy (AE), 13 had generalized tonic-clonic seizures on awakening (GTCS-A), 28 had generalized tonic-clonic seizures only (TCS), and 24 had adult-onset idiopathic generalized epilepsy (AIGE). The EEGs were classified in typical (synchronous generalized spike or polyspikes-and-wave discharges with normal background), atypical (with clear focalities or asymmetries), and normal. RESULTS: The 493 EEG exams were analyzed. The first EEG was normal in 45% of the 180 patients, and only 33% had typical abnormalities. AE had a higher proportion of typical examinations and needed fewer sequential examinations to register a typical abnormality compared with the other groups. By contrast, the serial EEG profile of TCS and AIGE showed a higher proportion of normal and atypical EEG findings. CONCLUSIONS: These findings support previous recommendations that IGE patients should be treated with appropriate therapy based on clinical history. Waiting for a typical abnormal EEG pattern can generate an unacceptable delay in the correct diagnosis and treatment of these patients. In patients with long-term epilepsy, the diagnosis may be difficult. Furthermore, serial EEGs can help to elucidate the syndromic diagnosis, especially in patients with TCS and AIGE.
Authors: Laura E Hernández-Vanegas; Aurelio Jara-Prado; Adriana Ochoa; Nayelli Rodríguez Y Rodríguez; Reyna M Durón; Daniel Crail-Meléndez; Ma Elisa Alonso; Antonio V Delgado-Escueta; Iris E Martínez-Juárez Journal: Epilepsy Behav Date: 2016-06-11 Impact factor: 2.937
Authors: Ioannis Karakis; Jay S Pathmanathan; Richard Chang; E Francis Cook; Sydney S Cash; Andrew J Cole Journal: Clin Neurophysiol Date: 2013-10-01 Impact factor: 3.708
Authors: Bin Wang; Xiong Han; Zongya Zhao; Na Wang; Pan Zhao; Mingmin Li; Yue Zhang; Ting Zhao; Yanan Chen; Zhe Ren; Yang Hong Journal: Front Med (Lausanne) Date: 2022-01-03