Home-video EEG monitoring in a pediatric setting

Abstract

Introduction: Pediatric video-EEG monitoring is a standard procedure in epilepsy clinics, typically conducted in in-hospital settings.However, hospitalizationis sometimesunnecessary and imposes a burden on children and their families. In response to the rise of telehealth, home video-EEG monitoring has emerged, utilizing portable EEG equipment and video-cameras. Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility of home video-EEGin a pediatric population. Methods: We conducteda prospective pilot study of twentyhome video-EEG tests in children. We evaluated the quality of EEG and video recordings using a 5-point scale.Demographic, clinical and quality data were comparedto a similar group undergoing in-hospital video-EEG monitoring. Results: Twenty children aged 2.1–17.2 years (mean 9.57 ± 1.01), 12 females (60 %), underwent home video-EEG. A higher proportion of children with intellectual disability/autism were observed in the home-EEG group compared to the in-hospital group: 12 patients (60 %) vs. 5 (25 %) (p 0.05, Chi square). The quality of the EEG recording was higher compared to in-hospital tests: median 5 [IQR 3.25–5] vs 4[IQR 3–4] (p < 0.05*, Mann-Whitney U test), while the quality of video recording was lower compared to in-hospital recordings: median 3[IQR 2.25–4] vs 5[IQR4-5] (p < 0.01**, Mann-Whitney U test). Conclusions: Home video-EEG monitoring is apromising option forlong-termpediatric EEG monitoring, particularlyfor children with special needs.

Keywords

• Telehealth
• Home long-term EEG monitoring
• Developmental and epileptic encephalopathies
• Neurodevelopmental disorders