Long Term and Critical Care EEG Monitoring Service

 

EEG Monitoring

 

Our Long Term and Critical Care EEG Monitoring service (LT/CCEM) comprises 16 modern XLTEK portable EEG machines equipped with state-of-the-art Persyst® software permitting quantitative interpretation of trends for precise analysis of seizure burden and ischemia monitoring. LT/CCEM is carried out in patients with paroxysmal disorders admitted acutely to the general neurology or medical service, and for critically ill patients in the neurointensive care or general medical-surgical critical care units.  Uniquely, our service is staffed with a rotating EEG pool of technologists round the clock, and the service can be requested 24/7. Medical supervision of the service is the responsibility of the attending EEG physician of the week, along with a variable number of trainees.  The ability to closely monitor patients with high temporal resolution without requiring their transportation to different locations in the hospital has made LT/CCEM an increasingly important diagnostic tool for a variety of acute neurological and neurosurgical conditions.

 

Our clinical LT/CCEM service is complemented by a vibrant academic program. Formal rounds with debate regarding challenging or controversial scenarios are held among neurocritical care and epilepsy faculty and clinicians, EEG technicians and house staff on a monthly basis. Additionally, discussion in a journal club format on a topic pertinent to LT/CCEM is held monthly. The University of Florida is also part of the international Critical Care EEG Monitoring Research Consortium (CCEMRC) that coordinates the scientific efforts of over 50 institutions worldwide. We also participate in several ongoing observational studies geared towards advancing our knowledge of the clinical impact of LT/CCEM.

 

Information for Patients

If you need continuous EEG monitoring while hospitalized at UF Shands Hospital, our EEG technicians will come to your bedside to connect you to a machine that continuously records your brain waves and video. The duration of the study ranges from a few hours to several days, depending on your needs as determined by your treating medical team. A board-certified physician is responsible for updating your team with the results of the EEG at least twice a day, and a daily report is generated in the electronic medical records and can be accessed through your patient portal. Your treating team will make use of the EEG data to make the best treatment decisions for you on a daily or more frequent basis.