What is video EEG monitoring?
This is done when a patient’s seizures fail to respond to treatment, and the doctor wants to confirm diagnosis or determine if brain surgery can treat seizures. For this test, the patient is admitted to the hospital and has an EEG and video recorded continuously to capture actual seizure events (ictal EEG). These techniques are used to record information on brain function and behavior during seizures. This information is used to diagnose the type of seizure the individual experiences and, therefore, might help with prescribing medicine. This monitoring is especially helpful in difficult cases. After admission to the monitoring unit, the patient’s seizure medication may be reduced so seizures can be captured in a reasonable time period. Usually, patients are admitted to the epilepsy monitoring unit for a few days. However, recording for a week or two might be required to capture a sufficient number of seizures.
