ABSTRACT

Objectives:

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.

Methods:

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.

Results:

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.

Conclusion:

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.