my personal edition > neurologic other > news


  E-Mail this DGReview to a colleague

DGReview

Outpatient Diagnosis Of Non-Epileptic Seizures

Habitual non-epileptic seizures can be reliably recorded during short outpatient video electroencephalograph (EEG) in selected patients using simple suggestion techniques.

The suggestion techniques appear to increase the yield of recorded seizures, particularly in the subgroup of patients with a history of previous events in medical settings. And it suggests that inpatient video EEG can be avoided in some patients, say A. McGonigal and colleagues from the Southern General Hospital, Glasgow, Scotland.

Thirty patients with a probable clinical diagnosis of non-epileptic seizures were randomized to receive either "suggestion" or "no suggestion" during video EEG recording at a regional, tertiary care epilepsy centre. Suggestion techniques were based on hyperventilation and photic stimulation. Of the 30 patients, 22 were women and eight were men, and all were more than 16 years of age.

Ten of 15 patients in the suggestion group had habitual non-epileptic seizures. Five of fifteen in the "no suggestion" group had non-epileptic seizures, the researchers report.

Eight of nine patients with a history of previous events in medical settings had non-epileptic seizures recorded. Further analysis showed a significant effect of suggestion in those patients who had a history of previous events in medical settings.

In 14 of the 30 patients (47 percent), an additional inpatient video-EEG was avoided, the researchers say.
Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery and Psychiatry 2002;72:549-551. "Outpatient video EEG recording in the diagnosis of non-epileptic seizures: a randomised controlled trial of simple suggestion techniques"

E-Mail this DGReview to a colleague

To print, use this version