Long-term EEG in adults: sleep-deprived EEG (SDE), ambulatory EEG (Amb-EEG) and long-term video-EEG recording (LTVER)

Abstract

Long-term EEG in adults includes three modalities: sleep deprived-EEG lasting 1 to 3 hours, 24 hours ambulatory-EEG and continuous prolonged video-EEG lasting from several hours to several days. The main indications of long-term EEG are: syndromic classification of epilepsy; search for interictal discharges when epilepsy is suspected or for the purpose of therapeutic evaluation; positive diagnosis of paroxysmal clinical events; and pre-surgical evaluation of drug-resistant epilepsy. Sleep deprived-EEG and ambulatory-EEG are indicated to detect interictal discharges in order to validate a syndromic classification of epilepsy when standard EEG is negative. These exams can help in evaluating treatment efficacy, especially when clinical evaluation is difficult. Long-term video EEG is indicated for drug-resistant epilepsy, to analyze electro-clinical correlations in a pre-surgical evaluation context, and to refine a positive diagnosis when paroxysmal clinical events are frequent.

Keywords: Ambulatory EEG; Classification syndromique; EEG ambulatoire; EEG avec privation de sommeil; Long term video-EEG monitoring; Manifestations cliniques paroxystiques récurrentes; Paroxysmal clinical events; Refractory epilepsy; Sleep deprived-EEG; Syndromic classification; Vidéo-EEG; Épilepsie pharmacorésistante.