Feasibility of sleep-deprived EEG in children.

BACKGROUND:Non-sedated EEG recording in children can be technically challenging, particularly when behavioral disorders are present. We aimed to assess the feasibility and the efficacy of non-sedated sleep-deprived EEG in children with behavioral disorders and in young children. METHODS:We retrospectively reviewed the EEG recordings and computerized medical records of all pediatric inpatients at least 2-month-old that had a sleep-deprived EEG during a 5-year period between 2009 and 2014. RESULTS:We present the data of 261 children, 142 (54%) boys, mean age 7.9 ± 4.9 years, 67 (26%) aged 0.5-4 years. Behavioral disorders were reported in 38 (15%) of the patients. Mean recording duration was 50.8 ± 12.5 min, and mean sleep duration- 31.8 ± 15.2 min. Thirty-seven (14%) patients slept less than 15 min during the EEG, including 19 (7%) patients with no sleep during the recording. Sleep duration and the presence of interictal epileptiform discharges did not significantly differ between children with/without behavioral disorders and in those younger/older than 4 years. Patients that did not fall asleep during the EEG did not differ from the others regarding presence of behavioral disorders or age. CONCLUSIONS:These results suggest that non-sedated sleep-deprived EEG is feasible in young children and in those with behavioral disorders. Further studies are needed in order to better characterize the etiologies of sleepless pediatric sleep-deprived EEG recordings.