Role of EEG in Diagnosing Abdominal Epilepsy Patients

Abstract

Introduction: Abdominal Epilepsy (AE) is an uncommon cause of paroxysmal abdominal pain. It is very challenging to diagnose a case of AE. This entity is less recognised as there is paucity in report and its literature. Aim: To find out AE amongst individual suffering from chronic recurrent abdominal pain with the help of clinical manifestations and Electroencephalography (EEG) changes. Materials and Methods: This was an observational, analytic study done for a period of three years at tertiary care hospital. The cases having recurrent abdominal pain were studied for EEG abnormalities showing sharp wave and spike wave pattern. All the data were analysed and studied by using software SPSS version 2.0. Results: Total of 30 cases of AE was studied for EEG abnormalities. The age range was from 5 to 35 years. The mean age group affected was from 8 to 10 years. The male to female ratio was 1:1.7. The main clinical presentation was pain in abdomen which was observed in all the cases. Other symptoms were nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, bloating, blurring of vision, confusion, etc. The EEG changes were noted in temporal region in 18(60%) cases, fronto-temporal in three (10.01%) cases, generalised in eight (26.66%) cases. The focal sharp wave and spike wave pattern was recorded in 20 (66.66%) cases, generalised sharp wave and spike wave pattern in 10 (33.33%) cases. Conclusion: The common epileptiform EEG abnormality pattern noted was focal sharp wave and spike wave pattern. Recurrent abdominal pain is usually overlooked and remains undiagnosed. If it is properly investigated with EEG it will be helpful for better management of patients.

Keywords

• convulsions
• electroencephalography changes
• paroxysmal abdominal pain
• spike wave pattern