Amplitude integrated EEG—the future?

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Amplitude integrated EEG (aEEG) is a technique for assessing cerebral function in neonates in search of clear indictors for clinical use. The standard EEG is cumbersome and time consuming, and the results are seldom available in anything close to real time to assist with patient management. The aEEG uses a limited number of electrodes to collect EEG information that is usually compressed in time to generate tracing that can be used to evaluate hypoxia-ischemia injury by pattern recognition, for example. The real time aEEG tracing also can be used to detect seizures, but how accurately? Lawrence et al used aEEG with seizure detection software and simultaneously standard EEG. They found that neonatologists not versed in reading aEEG tracings could recognize seizures and verify seizure events detected by the software. In general, the standard EEG supported the aEEG information. In a population of term infants at high risk for seizures, most seizure activity was not clinically apparent. The aEEG provided information for treatment decisions. The next step will be to demonstrate that treatments based on the aEEG information will improve outcomes.