NEONATAL ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAM DURING INTE NSIVE-CARE

The main contribution of EEG during intensive care in infants with hyp oxic-ischemic encephalopathy is i) to help determine whether infants w ith subtle clinical manifestations present,vith epileptic seizures, ii ) to determine whether paralyzed or heavily sedated infants present wi th convulsive phenomena iii) to assess the therapeutical response to a nticonvulsants, 4) to contribute, in combination,with ultrasound scann ing, to diagnostic evaluation of the severity of lesions, and to provi de valuable prognostic informations via the analysis of the background activity, as normal EEG is highly predictive of normal outcome, where as various abnormal EEG features are constantly associated with subseq uent major neurological abnormalities or death. These EEG features are readily available from a very early stage and may both precede and be prognostically more sensitive than information obtained from ultrasou nd. Recording of neonatal electroencephalogram requires awareness of t he normal development of electroencephalographic features in the newbo rn, skilled technicians, and experienced readers of EEG tracings. (C) 1998 Elsevier, Paris.