Ambulatory EEG Monitoring

Ambulatory electroencephalography (aEEG) monitoring is not limited to the home environment. It is a useful diagnostic test to evaluate an individual in whom seizures or seizure-like episodes are suspected in their natural environment wherever that may be. This book reviews some of the background distinctions for the technique of aEEG and instrumentation and polygraphic aEEG recording. aEEG monitoring often yields information in the evaluation of epilepsy and in the differential diagnosis of other conditions that mimic epilepsy including psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES), syncope, cardiogenic etiologies, parasomnias, migraine, and transient ischemic attacks. The book discusses the yield of aEEG and compares it with other short- and long-term monitoring techniques in epilepsy. It then provides a thorough assessment of ambulatory sleep studies. Chronic intracranial aEEG monitoring is covered with a new type of aEEG monitoring to provide not only electrocorticography but also encompass treatment using neuromodulation. The book also delivers an inside look at aEEG in the future with development of “wearables” that will allow us to learn new information that involves not only detection but prediction. The practical implications of aEEG involved in proper coding and billing are also reviewed. Case histories are included of patients evaluated with aEEG to underscore key points of practical value.