Ambulatory monitoring of EEG (A/EEG). Guide lines, methodology and indications
Introduction. Ambulatory monitoring of EEG by means of a cassette recording (A/EEG) allows cerebral electrical activity or other biological signals to be recorded during long periods, not less than 24 hours, with the patient being free to move around in his usual surroundings or in the hospital. Material and methods. The recordings are made using a system of electrodes, recording apparatus and software. Conclusions. The A/EEG is useful in the study of various diagnostic procedures, basically in the diagnosis and characterization of epilepsy. It is also useful in presurgical evaluation of patients with drug-resistant epilepsy in whom surgical treatment is being considered. In these cases, the possibility of prolonged monitoring allows some of the patient’s crises to be recorded, which is very useful in finding the site of the lesion. It is also useful when studying patients with hypersomnia or disorders of the wakefulness-sleep cycle. It is complementary to multiple sleep latency tests (TLSM) and polygraphic recordings of nocturnal sleep, since it allows the quantity, duration and type of sleep to be recorded during prolonged monitoring for more than 24 hours
Conclusión La A/EEG es de utilidad en el estudio de diversos procesos diagnósticos, fundamentalmente en el diagnóstico y caracterización de la epilepsia, así como en la evaluación prequirúrgica de aquellos pacientes con epilepsia parcial farmacorresistente en los que se plantea un tratamiento quirúrgico. En estos casos la posibilidad de monitorización prolongada permite el registro de alguna de las crisis del paciente de gran valor localizador. También es de utilidad en el estudio de pacientes con hipersomnia o trastornos del ciclo vigilia-sueño, de forma complementaria con los tests de latencia de sueño múltiples (TLSEM) y los registros poligráficos de sueño nocturno, debido a la posibilidad de documentar la cantidad, duración y tipo de sueño en monitorizaciones prolongadas de períodos superiores a 24 horas
