Continuous EEG monitoring in the neonatal intensive care unit.

Continuous EEG monitoring provides an opportunity to both accurately identify seizures and monitor the neurologic status of critically ill neonates in the intensive care unit. The incidence of seizures is higher in the neonatal period than at any other time in life. Seizures and abnormalities of EEG background are associated with significant risk of mortality and long-term neurodevelopmental morbidities. In the neonatal population the majority of seizures are not clinically evident and go undetected without EEG monitoring. We review the incidence and risk factors for neonatal seizures, and the utility of continuous EEG monitoring in the neonatal intensive care unit for seizure detection and for analysis of background to allow prognostication. We consider the role of amplitude-integrated EEG in the neonatal population. We consider the utility of continuous EEG for frequently encountered neurologic indications and discuss the outcome data and some new developments in continuous EEG monitoring.