Inpatient Epilepsy Monitoring Unit
More than 500 patients are admitted to the Stanford Epilepsy
Monitoring Unit (EMU) each year for seizure evaluation using the
latest technologies, including intracranial video-electroencephalogram
(EEG). Inpatient video-EEG monitoring involves a longer EEG, together
with video and sound recording, extra EEG channels and computerized
capture of pathological EEG patterns.
Inpatient intracranial video-EEG monitoring
Inpatient intracranial video-EEG monitoring is used to:
- determine whether a condition is epilepsy or a condition that
mimics epilepsy.
- determine which type of epileptic seizures
you are having to help guide your therapy.
- determine
whether you are having more seizures than you recognize, in order to
explain confusion or other troublesome symptoms.
- localize
where in your brain seizures start in order to determine whether
operating on the precise seizure source can treat epileptic seizures
intractable to medications.
Information for patients scheduled for admission to the EMU
- Each patient is admitted to the EMU for about 3-7 days,
depending on seizure frequency.
- A relative can stay with
you, but this is not required.
- You will be monitored
continuously with a video camera, while your brain waves are
recorded with EEG.
- While in the monitoring unit, you can
reside in a hospital bed or sit in a chair. Walking around the room
is permitted with assistance and precautions to prevent falls from a
seizure.
- During monitoring, the team performs a variety of
evaluations of your medical condition, and stress factors and mood
changes that commonly accompany severe seizures. If episodes do not
occur spontaneously, the team may try to induce them with medication
reduction, sleep deprivation, exercise, flashing lights,
hyperventilation (over-breathing), hypnosis or any maneuvers that
tend to bring on your seizures.
- Seizure medications may be
tapered in the hospital to cause seizures for analysis, under highly
controlled conditions.
- Please do not stop your seizure
medications before coming in for monitoring, unless your doctor
specifically advises you to do so.
- The EEG cable reaches
into the bathroom, where you have off-camera privacy.
- Bring
things to read and do, while waiting for a seizure.
- About 1
in 5 people undergo video-EEG monitoring with no episodes. However,
some of these individuals have EEG abnormalities picked up by the
recording devices, which helps diagnose their episodes. A few people
may experience a stay that does not lead to a diagnosis.
Patients with intractable epilepsy
If you are experiencing intractable epilepsy, and the video-EEG
monitoring suggests a single source in the brain for your seizures,
you may be a good candidate for epilepsy
surgery, which offers the best outcome in terms of seizure freedom.
