1. Burst-suppression is reactive to photic stimulation in comatose children with acquired brain injury.
- Author
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Nita, Dragos A., Moldovan, Mihai, Sharma, Roy, Avramescu, Sinziana, Otsubo, Hiroshi, and Hahn, Cecil D.
- Subjects
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COMA , *BRAIN injuries , *BRAIN stimulation , *ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAPHY , *SOMATOSENSORY cortex , *PATIENT monitoring , *DIAGNOSIS - Abstract
Objective Burst-suppression is an electroencephalographic pattern observed during coma. In individuals without known brain pathologies undergoing deep general anesthesia, somatosensory stimulation transiently increases the occurrence of bursts. We investigated the reactivity of burst-suppression in children with acquired brain injury. Methods Intensive care unit electroencephalographic monitoring recordings containing burst-suppression were obtained from 5 comatose children with acquired brain injury of various etiologies. Intermittent photic stimulation was performed at 1 Hz for 1 min to assess reactivity. We quantified reactivity by measuring the change in the burst ratio (fraction of time in burst) following photic stimulation. Results Photic stimulation evoked bursts in all patients, resulting in a transient increase in the burst ratio, while the mean heart rate remained unchanged. The regression slope of the change in burst ratio, referred to as the standardized burst ratio reactivity, correlated with subjects’ Glasgow Coma Scale scores. Conclusions Reactivity of the burst-suppression pattern to photic stimulation occurs across diverse coma etiologies. Standardized burst ratio reactivity appears to reflect coma severity. Significance Measurement of burst ratio reactivity could represent a simple method to monitor coma severity in critically ill children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2016
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