Longitudinal EEG-clinical correlations in children from birth to 4 years of age

• Published in: Pediatrics (Evanston) 1968-05, Vol.41 (5), p.945-954
• Main Authors: Torres, F, Blaw, M E
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Brain Diseases - diagnosis; Child, Preschool; Electroencephalography; Humans; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Neurologic Examination; Prognosis
• ISSN: 0031-4005; 1098-4275
• DOI: 10.1542/peds.41.5.945

One hundred-thirty children who had an EEG during their first days of life and who were registered in a clinical longitudinal study were followed with concurrent clinical and EEG examinations every 4 months for the first year of life and at 2, 3, and 4 years of age. Thirty children had EEG characteristics which are frequently considered abnormal in their neonatal record. Twenty-three children had clinical abnormalities during the 4-year period covered by the study. There was no significant correlation between a single EEG and clinical abnormalities at any age. Newborn infants with more than one focal abnormality in their EEG presented clinical abnormalities more frequently than those with a single focus. The difference, however, did not attain statistical significance. Children with an abnormal EEG at birth and an additional abnormal record later, had a higher incidence of clinical abnormalities than those with only an abnormal neonatal EEG. However, this finding is of questionable significance because the children who had clinical abnormalities had a larger number of EEG's than the normal subjects. It is expected that continued follow-up of these children at more advanced stages of their development may give a positive EEG-clinical correlation which was not found in this study.