ABSTRACT

Long-term video-electroencephalogram (EEG) monitoring (VEM) is a diagnostic system used for many purposes, including the precise categorization of epileptic seizures, excluding non-epileptic seizures, and finding the seizure onset zone. The aim of this study was to demonstrate the importance of the VEM in the diagnosis and differential diagnosis of epilepsy.

Data of patients who were hospitalized in the video-EEG unit of Dicle University Neurology Department between 2012 and 2016 were retrospectively evaluated. The records of 245 patients that were of at least 24-hours duration were included in the study.

The mean duration of recording was 3.3±1.3 days. Clinically observed seizures were detected in 37.5% (n=92) of the patients. Of those, 21.2% (n=52) were evaluated as epileptic seizures and 16.3% (n=40) were defined as non-epileptic seizures. The proportion of psychogenic non-epileptic seizures was 14% (n=36). The mean length of the recording of the first seizure attack was 1.6 days. Interictal EEG abnormalities were found in 13.4% (n=33) of the patients. The mean duration of the disorder was 7.3 years.

Medical history, physical examination, and routine EEG procedures can be misleading factors in the diagnosis of epilepsy. VEM is a crucial technique to differentiate diagnoses in patients with treatment-resistant epilepsy and to precisely diagnose the seizure type and the epileptic syndrome.

Keywords: Electroencephalogram, epilepsy, video-electroencephalogram