Electroencephalogram (eeg) as a tool in diagnosis of epileptic seizures in children

In this Essay we have indicated the role of EEG in evaluating children with known or suspected seizures. EEG is an important, perhaps the most important, adjunct to history and examination. But, as with any laboratory test, care and judgment must be used in relating EEG findings to other clinical data. Indeed, the full potential of EEG can be realized only when interpretations are placed in the full clinical context EEG interpretation in infants and children is complicated by two important considerations. First, many normal potentials are high-voltage, occur paroxysmally, and have spiky waveforms. Unusual benign variants are common. Thus, EEGs of children are easy to over interpret or misinterpret. The second issue is that the developing brain has unique neuroanatomic, biochemical, and neurophysiologic features. The various EEG abnormalities in childhood epilepsy and their clinical expression result from the interaction of developmental features with genetic or acquired pathology