Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
How common are electrographic seizures in dogs and cats undergoing EEG
By Granum, Liana K et al.·Published in Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association·2019·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Prevalence of electrographic seizure in dogs and cats undergoing electroencephalography and clinical characteristics and outcome for dogs and cats with and without electrographic seizure: 104 cases (2009-2015).
Plain-English summary
A group of 89 dogs and 15 cats suspected of having seizures underwent a special test called electroencephalography (EEG) to check for abnormal brain activity. The results showed that about 20% of these pets had electrographic seizures (ES), and 12% had a more severe condition called electrographic status epilepticus (ESE). Many pets with ES showed only mild signs of seizures, making it hard to diagnose without the EEG. Unfortunately, the in-hospital death rates were higher for pets with ES and ESE compared to those without these conditions. This highlights the importance of EEG in identifying pets that may need urgent treatment.
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Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of electrographic seizure (ES) and electrographic status epilepticus (ESE) in dogs and cats that underwent electroencephalography (EEG) because of suspected seizure activity and to characterize the clinical characteristics, risk factors, and in-hospital mortality rates for dogs and cats with ES or ESE. DESIGN: Retrospective case series. ANIMALS: 89 dogs and 15 cats. PROCEDURES: Medical records of dogs and cats that underwent EEG at a veterinary neurology service between May 2009 and April 2015 were reviewed. Electrographic seizure was defined as ictal discharges that evolved in frequency, duration, or morphology and lasted at least 10 seconds, and ESE was defined as ES that lasted ≥ 10 minutes. Patient signalment and history, physical and neurologic examination findings, diagnostic test results, and outcome were compared between patients with and without ES or ESE. RESULTS: Among the 104 patients, ES and ESE were diagnosed in 21 (20%) and 12 (12%), respectively. Seventeen (81%) patients with ES had no or only subtle signs of seizure activity. The in-hospital mortality rate was 48% and 50% for patients with ES and ESE, respectively, compared with 19% for patients without ES or ESE. Risk factors for ES and ESE included young age, overt seizure activity within 8 hours before EEG, and history of cluster seizures. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL REVELANCE: Results indicated that ES and ESE were fairly common in dogs and cats with suspected seizure activity and affected patients often had only subtle clinical signs. Therefore, EEG is necessary to detect patients with ES and ESE.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30938610/