EEG Changes Correlated with Ischemia Across the Sexes in Carotid Endarterectomy

In surgical procedures that are at high risk for intraoperative cerebral ischemia, such as carotid endarterectomy (CEA), continuous intraoperative monitoring (IONM) with electroencephalography (EEG) is routinely performed [1], [2]. In IONM, a neurophysiologist visually monitors the EEG and alerts the surgical team when the risk of ischemia is present. During CEA, the risk of ischemia is high in the period immediately after the clamping of the carotid artery. Typical changes reflective of cerebral ischemia that are visually observed on the EEG include an ipsilateral decrease in amplitude of faster frequencies or ipsilateral increase in activity of slower frequencies. Human visual monitoring of the EEG can be tedious and error-prone, and quantitative EEG (QEEG) parameters can enhance visual EEG review. However, it is not known if sex affects QEEG parameters. Thus, in this study, we focus on evaluating the difference in QEEG parameters between females and males, correcting for age and side of surgery.