1043-3155 Pediatr Neurol Briefs pedneurbriefs Pediatr Neurol Briefs Pediatric Neurology Briefs Pediatr Neurol Briefs 2166-6482 1043-3155 2166-3155 Pediatric Neurology Briefs Publishers Chicago, IL, USA PNB-8-52-b 10.15844/pedneurbriefs-8-7-7 Seizure Disorders Neurology Pediatrics Nervous System Diseases Child Development Brain Diseases Neurosurgery Child Infant EEG Discontinuity and Neonatal Acidosis http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0173-7931 Millichap J. Gordon MD 1 2 * Division of Neurology, Children's Memorial Hospital, Chicago, IL Departments of Pediatrics and Neurology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL Correspondence: Dr. J. Gordon Millichap, E-mail: jgmillichap@northwestern.edu 07 1994 01 06 2016 8 7 52 52 Copyright: © 1994 The Author(s) 1994 This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Reversible changes in cerebral activity associated with acidosis in preterm neonates

The effect of acidosis on cerebral function was evaluated by computerized online EEG monitoring in 14 ventilated preterm infants less than 32 weeks’ gestation at the Department of Paediatrics and Neonatal Medicine, Royal Postgraduate Medical School, Hammersmith Hospital, London, UK.

 Acidosis Hypoxia Hemorrhage

The effect of acidosis on cerebral function was evaluated by computerized online EEG monitoring in 14 ventilated preterm infants less than 32 weeks’ gestation at the Department of Paediatrics and Neonatal Medicine, Royal Postgraduate Medical School, Hammersmith Hospital, London, UK. All episodes of acidosis were associated with periods of EEG discontinuity (attenuated activity between bursts of EEG activity). In more than half a pH <7.20 was recorded, but EEG changes were noted even with acidosis levels of pH 7.20-7.25. In 21 of 32 episodes, EEG activity returned to pre-acidosis levels after therapy for acidosis. Duration of EEG discontinuity was related to severity of acidosis. Recovery of EEG was quickest for pure-respiratory acidoses that required only simple ventilatory adjustments. [1]

COMMENT. Increases in the amount of discontinuity in the EEG of infants may reflect disturbances in neonatal cerebral function caused by acidosis, hypoxia, or low cerebral blood flow. These changes are reversible in contrast to EEG suppression associated with hemorrhage that is persistent. EEG discontinuity may be used as a sign of acute neonatal cerebral dysfunction requiring immediate therapeutic intervention. This apears to be the first report of EEG changes in the neonate associated with acidosis.

 Murdoch Eaton DG Dubowitz V Wertheim D Oozeer R Dubowitz LM Reversible changes in cerebral activity associated with acidosis in preterm neonates Acta Paediatr 1994 May 83 5 486 492 10.1111/j.1651-2227.1994.tb13064.x 8086724