Sections
Electroencephalography | Quantitative Electroencephalography | Evoked Potentials and Event-Related Potentials | Magnetoencephalography and Magnetic Source Imaging
Excerpt
Generalized or focal slowing and attenuated posterior alpha
may occur in the first several hours after mild TBI among adults
(Geets and de Zegher 1985; Nuwer et al. 2005).
Among adult patients with loss of consciousness (LOC) of <2
minutes, 17% of 100 subjects recorded within 48 hours demonstrated
electroencephalographic abnormalities, and electroencephalograms
were abnormal in 56% of 25 subjects with mild TBI (LOC >2
minutes) (Geets and Louette 1985). Similar frequencies
(15%–51%) of electroencephalographic
abnormalities in the early period after mild TBI are reported elsewhere
(Denker and Perry 1954; Geets and de Zegher 1985; Koufen and Dichgans 1978; Torres and Shapiro 1962; von Bierbrauer and Weissenborn 1998). In these cases, slowing, generalized
bursts and focal abnormalities were the most common findings. However,
such findings are not universal (Levin and Grossman 1978; Voller et al. 1999). Nonetheless, mild slowing is a common finding
when EEG is performed within hours to days of a mild TBI. These
changes are often subtle, not infrequently still within the range
of normal findings in the general population, and may be apparent
only when compared with follow-up electroencephalograms in the late
postinjury period.