Background: In general clinical practice, neonatal seizures are identified visually by direct clinical observation. The study aimed to examine the frequency of clinical seizures in paroxysmal events in a neonatal intensive care unit.
Methods: We conducted a prospective study of continuous video-EEG monitoring in a neonatal intensive care unit between January 2017 and December 2020. The demographic data were also reviewed.
Results: Sixty-four neonates were enrolled. The median total video-EEG monitoring duration was 24.1 h (IQR 17.5-44.8 h). There were 309 clinically suspected seizure episodes, of which 181 (58.6%) were the motor type and 128 (41.4%) were the non-motor type. Only 63 (20.4%) of these events were confirmed to be clinical seizures on a simultaneous video-EEG recording. In terms of the impact of continuous video-EEG monitoring on clinical management, the anti-epileptic drugs were changed in 42 (65.6%) of the 64 neonates.
Conclusion: In the identification of neonatal seizures, a clinical diagnosis by direct observation alone is not enough. The use of continuous video-EEG monitoring plays an important role in the diagnosis of neonatal seizures and in guiding clinical management decisions.
Keywords: NICU; clinical seizure; frequency; paroxysmal events.