Clinical and Radiological Correlates of Different Electroencephalographic Pattern in Hospitalized Patients

Abstract

Objective. The present study aimed to determine the clinical and radiological correlates of different electroencephalographic (EEG) patterns in hospitalized patients. Subjects and Methods. In this retrospective study performed at the Neurology Department, King Fahd University Hospital, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), data of 374 patients who underwent EEG were reviewed and analyzed. Results. Presence of focal spike and wave or sharp wave (SW) (P = .00), generalized theta activity (P = .00), generalized delta activity (P = .04), persistent focal slow wave activity (SWA) (P = .003) and asymmetric background (P = .01) in the EEG record was significantly associated with abnormal imaging findings. Specifically, generalized theta delta activity (P = .01) and markedly attenuated EEG activity (P = .007) were associated with presence of cortical lesions; whereas, triphasic waves (TWs) (P = .009), and generalized theta activity (P = .001) were found to be related with presence of subcortical lesions. While, generalized delta activity (P = .01) was the only correlate with extra-axial lesions. Conclusion. At present, certain EEG patterns cannot be precisely correlated with imaging findings, suggesting that intercurrent metabolic, infectious, and/or toxic contributors could be the confounding factors. Nonetheless, when EEG patterns are examined alongside magnetic resonance imaging findings and other clinically relevant data, these might be indicative of a group of diseases in some pertinent situations. Thus, further larger prospective clinical studies that incorporate continuous EEG monitoring, advanced radiology techniques, and laboratory analyses would be beneficial to elucidate their interplay for better firm up the correlations.