Open J Psychiatry Allied Sci. 2023 Nov 1. Epub ahead of print.

A retrospective analysis of interictal epileptiform activity in one year of electroencephalography records from psychiatry laboratory and its relation with clinical features/semiology, age, and sex.

Seal R, Ghosh S, Phukan R, Dabria T, Suman.

Abstract

Background: Electroencephalography (EEG) is a widespread test in medical setup yet there is scarcity of data of what percentage of referred EEG has abnormality that is suggestive of epileptiform discharges and what is the frequency distribution of these abnormalities. Objective: The study is used to retrospectively evaluate the frequency and pattern of EEG abnormality in various age groups and all sexes. Method: It was a retrospective cross-sectional analysis of EEG of every patient referred to EEG laboratory for finding discharges suggestive of epileptiform discharges over a one-year period. The age and sex data of patients were collected. The epileptiform discharges were classified accordingly to the International Federation of Societies of Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology definition of interictal epileptiform activities (IEA). Result: The study revealed that a higher percentage of patients in the younger age group (100/126 [79%]) displayed abnormal EEG results, compared to the adult population (58/106 [54%]). This discrepancy indicates a significant difference in the prevalence of abnormal EEG findings between these two age groups. Moreover, the study found no discernible variation in the occurrence of abnormal EEG results based on sex. Conclusion: The study found age was an important variable in predicting both frequency of abnormality and its type.

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