https://doi.org/10.1177/1550059420910559
Clinical EEG and Neuroscience
1–7
© EEG and Clinical Neuroscience
Society (ECNS) 2020
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DOI: 10.1177/1550059420910559
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Original Article
Introduction
EEG is commonly used as a diagnostic tool for many neuro-
logical and medical conditions, including seizures, epilepsy,
cerebrovascular diseases, head injuries, psychiatric diseases,
and various encephalopathies.
1
As paroxysmal spells of abnor-
mal movements and altered level of consciousness (ALC) are
common among hospitalized patients,
2
close examination of
EEG patterns alongside clinical history and imaging findings
may help determine their underlying etiologies. The associa-
tion between certain EEG patterns and circumscribed brain
lesions has been described previously.
3
Similarly, correlation
between EEG patterns pertaining to various encephalopathies
and the corresponding brain magnetic resonance imaging
(MRI) findings has been the topic of extensive clinical
research.
4-6
However, there is a paucity of studies aiming to
establish links between EEG findings and those yielded by
other advanced imaging techniques, including magnetic reso-
nance spectroscopy, single photon emission CT and positron
emission tomography.
It has been postulated that slowing of EEG background
activity is associated with cortical impairments, whereas
subcortical abnormalities can produce delta range slow wave
activity (SWA) or triphasic waves (TWs). Similarly, pathologies
affecting both cortical and subcortical brain regions can lead to
SWA along with background slowing.
7
In the histology and
EEG study of patients with diffuse encephalopathy, paroxysmal
synchronous discharges (PSDs) with either (spikes, spike and
wave complexes, sharp waves [SWs] or SWA that emerged
from the background and then returned to lower voltage activ-
ity), as well as continuous, irregular, and asynchronous poly-
morphic delta activity (PDA) in EEG, were associated with
combined cortical and subcortical gray matter pathology, or
with white matter pathology.
8
Therefore, the aim of the present
study was to determine the correlations between different EEG
patterns and underlying structural brain abnormalities in
910559EEG XX X 10.1177/1550059420910559Clinical EEG and NeuroscienceNazish
research-article 2020
1
Department of Neurology, College of Medicine, Imam Abdulrahman Bin
Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia
Corresponding Author:
Saima Nazish, Department of Neurology, College of Medicine, Imam
Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, King Fahd University Hospital, Dammam,
31952, Saudi Arabia.
Email: snmohammadali@iau.edu.sa
Clinical and Radiological Correlates of
Different Electroencephalographic
Pattern in Hospitalized Patients
Saima Nazish
1
Abstract
Objective. The present study aimed to determine the clinical and radiological correlates of different electroencephalographic
(EEG) patterns in hospitalized patients. Subjects and Methods. In this retrospective study performed at the Neurology Department,
King Fahd University Hospital, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), data of 374 patients who underwent EEG were reviewed and
analyzed. Results. Presence of focal spike and wave or sharp wave (SW) (P = .00), generalized theta activity (P = .00), generalized
delta activity (P = .04), persistent focal slow wave activity (SWA) (P = .003) and asymmetric background (P = .01) in the EEG
record was significantly associated with abnormal imaging findings. Specifically, generalized theta delta activity (P = .01) and
markedly attenuated EEG activity (P = .007) were associated with presence of cortical lesions; whereas, triphasic waves (TWs)
(P = .009), and generalized theta activity (P = .001) were found to be related with presence of subcortical lesions. While,
generalized delta activity (P = .01) was the only correlate with extra-axial lesions. Conclusion. At present, certain EEG patterns
cannot be precisely correlated with imaging findings, suggesting that intercurrent metabolic, infectious, and/or toxic contributors
could be the confounding factors. Nonetheless, when EEG patterns are examined alongside magnetic resonance imaging findings
and other clinically relevant data, these might be indicative of a group of diseases in some pertinent situations. Thus, further larger
prospective clinical studies that incorporate continuous EEG monitoring, advanced radiology techniques, and laboratory analyses
would be beneficial to elucidate their interplay for better firm up the correlations.
Keywords
electroencephalography, altered level of consciousness, magnetic resonance imaging, cerebral cortex
Received November 4, 2019; revised January 16, 2020; accepted January 23, 2020.