Video-EEG monitoring of paroxysmal events in the elderly

S. Kipervasser, M. Y. Neufeld*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

18 Scopus citations

Abstract

Objectives - To determine the importance of video-EEG monitoring (VEM) in elderly patients with various paroxysmal events. Material and methods - We retrospectively identified 16 subjects ≥ 60 years old out of 834 (1.9%; 7 females, mean age 67.8 ± 7.7 years), who were admitted to the Video-EEG Unit between 1997 and 2005 and compared data between those with and without epileptic events. Results - Epilepsy was confirmed in six patients, psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (NES) were diagnosed in seven, one patient had NES and epilepsy whereas the recorded events were non-conclusive in two. NES patients had a higher predisposition to psychiatric disturbances (P<0.02). Following VEM and management alteration, the frequency of monthly events decreased significantly for the cohort as a whole (P<0.001). VEM directly influenced the diagnosis, treatment and outcome of 14 of 16 (88%) patients. Conclusion - Video-EEM plays a vital role in the evaluation of paroxysmal events in the elderly, but is vastly underutilized in this population group.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)221-225
Number of pages5
JournalActa Neurologica Scandinavica
Volume116
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 2007

Keywords

  • Drug adjustment
  • Elderly
  • Misdiagnosis
  • Outcome
  • Paroxysmal events
  • Video-EEG monitoring

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Video-EEG monitoring of paroxysmal events in the elderly'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this