Continuous EEG monitoring in adults in the intensive care unit (ICU)

Continuous EEG monitoring in the ICU is different from planned EEG due to the rather urgent nature of the indications, explaining the fact that recording is started in certain cases by the clinical team in charge of the patient's care. Close collaboration between neurophysiology teams and intensive care teams is essential. Continuous EEG monitoring can be facilitated by quantified analysis systems. This kind of analysis is based on certain signal characteristics, such as amplitude or frequency content, but raw EEG data should always be interpreted if possible, since artefacts can sometimes impair quantified EEG analysis. It is preferable to work within a tele-EEG network, so that the neurophysiologist has the possibility to give an interpretation on call. Continuous EEG monitoring is thus useful in the diagnosis of non-convulsive epileptic seizures or purely electrical discharges and in the monitoring of status epilepticus when consciousness disorders persist after initial treatment. A number of other indications are currently under evaluation. (C) 2015 Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.