METABOLIC AND INFLAMMATORY CEREBRAL DISEASES - ELECTROPHYSIOLOGICAL ASPECTS

The electroencephalogram (EEG) is an important diagnostic tool in coma . Although comatose patients may be similar on neurological examinatio n, the EEG reveals a wide range of abnormalities. For metabolic and se ptic encephalopathies, the ''anesthesia model'' is a useful analogy, T he EEG is very sensitive to the depth or severity of brain dysfunction in coma as well as the direction of the process if serial tracings or continuous recordings are used. While the EEC is rarely specific for the etiology of coma, it may help determine the class or general categ ory of disease process. In conditions capable of causing neuronal deat h, e.g., anoxia-ischemia, the EEG can be of prognostic value.