Ultra-long-term subcutaneous home monitoring of epilepsy-490 days of EEG from nine patients

Abstract

Objective: To explore the feasibility of home monitoring of epilepsy patients with a novel subcutaneous electroencephalography (EEG) device, including clinical implications, safety, and compliance via the first real-life test.

Methods: We implanted a beta-version of the 24/7 EEG SubQ (UNEEG Medical A/S, Denmark) subcutaneously in nine participants with temporal lobe epilepsy. Data on seizures, adverse events, compliance in using the device, and use of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) were collected. EEG was recorded for up to 3 months, and all EEG data were reviewed visually to identify electrographic seizures. These were descriptively compared to seizure counts and AED changes reported in diaries from the same period.

Results: Four hundred ninety days of EEG and 338 electrographic seizures were collected. Eight participants completed at least 9 weeks of home monitoring, while one cancelled participation after 4 weeks due to postimplantation soreness. In total, 13 cases of device-related adverse events were registered, none of them serious. Recordings obtained from the device covered 73% of the time, on average (range 45%-91%). Descriptively, electrographic seizure counts were substantially different from diary seizure counts. We uncovered several cases of underreporting and revealed important information on AED response. Electrographic seizure counts revealed circadian distributions of seizures not visible from seizure diaries.

Significance: The study shows that home monitoring for up to 3 months with a subcutaneous EEG device is feasible and well tolerated. No serious adverse device-related events were reported. An objective seizure count can be derived, which often differs substantially from self-reported seizure counts. Larger clinical trials quantifying the benefits of objective seizure counting should be a priority for future research as well as development of algorithms for automated review of data.

Keywords: EEG; epilepsy; home monitoring; long-term monitoring; subcutaneous EEG.