May 25, 2012
Topics A-Z Brain and Nervous System Help to understand EEG report findings
Help to understand EEG report findings |
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Dear Ask The Doctor: I recently revieved results for a 24 hour ambulatory EEG. It states rare left temporal intermittent irregular delta delta activity was seen that at times became sharply contoured. The interpretation is that the EEG is suggestive of left temporal nonsecific cerebral dysfunction. My neurologist stated that I am a mystery. Of course without making any diagnosis, could you offer a hypotheses as to what this EEG finding suggests and maybe a brief explanation of the interpretation. Dear Robert: The EEG findings that you have described may be included in the category of Focal EEG abnormalities, these can be epileptiform (cause of seizures) or nonepileptiform (these do not cause seizures). Epileptiform transients such as spikes and sharp waves are the interictal marker of a patient with epilepsy and are the EEG signature of a seizure focus. Nonepileptiform abnormalities are characterized by alterations in normal rhythms or by the appearance of abnormal ones. Nonepileptiform EEG abnormalities are associated with focal cerebral dysfunction, often due to a demonstrable structural lesion. In order to correlate this finding to a structural lesion you need to have a CT or MRI. If any of the imaging tests come out normal, then the EEG finding does not have any clinical significance. By contrast, more widespread central nervous system (CNS) derangements, such as those due to metabolic disturbances, usually produce generalized EEG abnormalities. On occasion, widespread CNS derangements do result in the appearance of focal EEG abnormalities; this often occurs in patients with preexisting structural abnormalities. Delta waves are usually associated with the deepest stages of sleep (3 and 4 NREM), also known as slow-wave sleep (SWS), and aid in characterizing the depth of sleep. |
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| Last Updated ( Saturday, 06 August 2011 ) |
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