Email this article 
| Journal of Neurology Research, ISSN 1923-2845 print, 1923-2853 online, Open Access |
| Article copyright, the authors; Journal compilation copyright, J Neurol Res and Elmer Press Inc |
| Journal website http://www.neurores.org |
Editorial
Volume 10, Number 2, April 2020, pages 31
The Evolving Role of Electroencephalography in the Neurocritically Ill Patient
Ali Seifia, b, Ilse Amairani Pereza
aNeuro Critical Care, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, TX, USA
bCorresponding Author: Ali Seifi, Neuro Critical Care, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, TX, USA
Manuscript submitted January 22, 2020, accepted February 24, 2020
Short title: EEG in the Neurocritically Ill Patient
doi: https://doi.org/10.14740/jnr569
Every day, it becomes more relevant in the management of critically ill patients, the different modalities to monitor vital functions, of which, the brain is not the exception. The last decades have been characterized by the remarkable advance of the technology applied to the different types of monitoring. Monitoring means “to watch over” or “to anticipate”. Monitoring is crucial and essential in the modern management of severely ill patients in intensive care units. It is simply the act of observing the course of one or more physiological parameters in order to detect anomalies. Neurological status monitoring is essential during acute brain injury of any origin, as well as in the critically ill patient without primary neurological injury. In general, monitoring in intensive care units is intended to achieve the following objectives: 1) to evaluate and follow the function of an organ or system; 2) to interpret the pathophysiology of a particular entity; 3) to provide physiological data that allow the identification of abnormal situations; 4) to guide and evaluate the response to therapy; and 5) to help establish the prognosis. Specifically speaking, neuromonitoring modalities cover a broad spectrum of brain physiology, from clinical evaluation to obtaining and acquiring sophisticated variables that evaluate different aspects of brain functioning. One of these parameters is the electroencephalography (EEG), which is a simple, and non-invasive way aids to obtain information on neuronal activity in the face of structural and/or functional changes [1]. This variable can be obtained in isolation or continuously [1].
In their review article, Vaz de Melo et al, in a clear, simple, practical and graphic way, provide information about the specific use of EEG in the different types of encephalitis, which is not limited to diagnostic assistance or in the detection of seizure states [2]. The available literature in this regard is scarce, which is why I highlight the value of this manuscript.
Acknowledgments
None to declare.
Financial Disclosure
None to declare.
Conflict of Interest
None to declare.
Author Contributions
Ali Seifi wrote commentary. Ilse Amairani Perez contributed to the English edit.
Data Availability
The authors declare that data supporting the findings of this study are available within the article.
| References | ▴Top |
- Rubinos C, Godoy DA. Electroencephalographic monitoring in the critically ill patient: What useful information can it contribute? Med Intensiva. 2019. Epub 25 June 2019.
doi pubmed - Vaz de Melo L, Godoy DA. Electroencephalography in acute phase of encephalitis. J Neurol Res. 2020;10(2):37.
This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 International License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Journal of Neurology Research is published by Elmer Press Inc.