EEG ICU and Continuous EEG Monitoring

Question 1

Continuous EEG (cEEG) monitoring in the ICU is most commonly indicated to detect:

Accepted Answer

Nonconvulsive seizures and nonconvulsive status epilepticus

Answer

Sleep spindle frequency

Answer

Cortical spreading depression only

Answer

Brainstem reflexes

Question 2

The American Clinical Neurophysiology Society (ACNS) standardized critical care EEG terminology defines a periodic discharge as a waveform recurring at a rate of at least:

Accepted Answer

≥1 Hz for ≥6 cycles

Answer

≥3 Hz for ≥3 cycles

Answer

≥0.5 Hz for ≥10 cycles

Answer

≥2 Hz for ≥4 cycles

Question 3

Lateralized periodic discharges (LPDs), formerly called PLEDs, are most often associated with:

Accepted Answer

Acute hemispheric structural lesions such as stroke or herpes encephalitis

Answer

Metabolic encephalopathy

Answer

Brainstem infarction

Answer

Corpus callosum injury

Question 4

Burst suppression on EEG in a critically ill patient is characterized by:

Accepted Answer

Alternating bursts of high-amplitude mixed activity and periods of near-flat EEG

Answer

Continuous high-amplitude delta slowing

Answer

Repetitive spike-wave complexes at 3 Hz

Answer

Beta-predominant activity with rare slow waves

Question 5

In continuous EEG monitoring, a quantitative EEG (qEEG) compressed spectral array (CSA) is used primarily to:

Accepted Answer

Summarize hours of raw EEG into a compressed visual trend to detect seizures or ischemia

Answer

Replace raw EEG review entirely

Answer

Measure exact spike counts per minute

Answer

Generate automatic sleep stage scores

Question 6

Which ICU patient population has the highest risk of nonconvulsive seizures, justifying prompt cEEG monitoring?

Accepted Answer

Patients with acute convulsive status epilepticus treated with benzodiazepines

Answer

Patients with uncomplicated metabolic encephalopathy

Answer

Patients with stable chronic epilepsy

Answer

Postoperative patients after elective spine surgery