Using the spectral analysis of the EEG for prognosis of severe brain injuries in the first post-traumatic week.

Abstract

Fifty adult patients with severe brain injuries were examined with the EEG on the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, and 7th postoperative days. In 40 of these 50 cases a prognosis was given after 7 days as a result of the Fourier analysis of the EEG: 23 patients survived, 17 died. There are significant differences in the EEG's for these two groups: an increase of the absolute and relative amplitudes in the alpha and theta bands for the survivors, and a decrease or no change in the alpha and theta bands for the others, all during the first week. In 10 cases the correct prognosis could not be given: 5 patients showed spindle or alpha activity (alpha pattern coma) in the EEG; 4 cases had to be treated with barbiturates for focal seizures, and one suffered from secondary bleeding. In these cases computer tomography did not yield additional prognostic information.