Electrographic monitoring for seizure detection in the neonatal unit: current status and future direction

Abstract

Neonatal neurocritical intensive care is dedicated to safeguarding the newborn brain by prioritising clinical practices that promote early identification, diagnosis and treatment of brain injuries. The most common newborn neurological emergency is neonatal seizures, which may also be the initial clinical indication of neurological disease. A high seizure burden in the newborn period independently contributes to increased mortality and morbidity. The majority of seizures in newborns are subclinical (without clinical presentation), and hence identification may be difficult. Neuromonitoring techniques most frequently used to monitor brain wave activity include conventional electroencephalography (cEEG) or amplitude-integrated EEG (aEEG). cEEG with video is the gold standard for diagnosing and treating seizures. Many neonatal units do not have access to cEEG, and frequently those that do, have little access to real-time interpretation of monitoring. IMPACT: EEG monitoring is of no benefit to an infant without expert interpretation. Whilst EEG is a reliable cot-side tool and of diagnostic and prognostic use, both conventional EEG and amplitude-integrated EEG have strengths and limitations, including sensitivity to seizure activity and ease of interpretation. Automated seizure detection requires a sensitive and specific algorithm that can interpret EEG in real-time and identify seizures, including their intensity and duration.