Evidence map›Paper›PMID 24070982›Full record

ArticleThe American journal of emergency medicine2013

Prevalence of non-convulsive seizure and other electroencephalographic abnormalities in ED patients with altered mental status.

Shahriar Zehtabchi, Samah G Abdel Baki, Ahmet Omurtag, Richard Sinert, Geetha Chari, Shweta Malhotra, Jeremy Weedon, André A Fenton, Arthur C Grant

Open access · greenAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in The American journal of emergency medicine, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
17citing papers in PubMed
2.3field-weighted citation impact, top 13% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

17 citing papers in PubMed, 49 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Trial
  2. Effect of microEEG on clinical management and outcomes of emergency department patients with altered mental status: a randomized controlled trial.Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine · 2014
    Trial
  3. Article
  4. EEG in patients with altered mental status in the emergency department.International journal of emergency medicine · 2026
    Article
  5. Article
  6. Review
  7. Article
  8. Observational
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Review
  12. Article
  13. Article
  14. Article
  15. Electroencephalographic features of convulsive epilepsy in Africa: A multicentre study of prevalence, pattern and associated factors.Clinical neurophysiology : official journal of the International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2016
    Article
  16. Neurocritical care update.Journal of intensive care · 2016
    Review
  17. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Shahriar ZehtabchiDepartment of Emergency Medicine, State University of New York, Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY, USA. Electronic address: Shahriar.zehtabchi@downstate.edu.
Samah G Abdel Baki
Ahmet Omurtag
Richard Sinert
Geetha Chari
Shweta Malhotra
Jeremy Weedon
André A Fenton
Arthur C Grant
State University of New York · USSUNY Downstate Health Sciences University · USBio Signal Group (United States) · US

Funding

Putting EEG in the Emergency DepartmentRC3NS070658 · NINDS · BIO-SIGNAL GROUP CORPORATION · PI FENTON, ANDRE ANTONIO, OMURTAG, AHMET · 2010 to 2010
$2.9M
NINDS NIH HHS 1RC3NS070658NINDS NIH HHS RC3 NS070658
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

unlabelledFour to ten percent of patients evaluated in emergency departments (ED) present with altered mental status (AMS). The prevalence of non-convulsive seizure (NCS) and other electroencephalographic (EEG) abnormalities in this population is unknown.

objectivesTo identify the prevalence of NCS and other EEG abnormalities in ED patients with AMS.

methodsA prospective observational study at 2 urban ED. Inclusion: patients ≥13 years old with AMS. Exclusion: An easily correctable cause of AMS (e.g. hypoglycemia). A 30-minute standard 21-electrode EEG was performed on each subject upon presentation. OUTCOME: prevalence of EEG abnormalities interpreted by a board-certified epileptologist. EEGs were later reviewed by 2 blinded epileptologists. Inter-rater agreement (IRA) of the blinded EEG interpretations is summarized with κ. A multiple logistic regression model was constructed to identify variables that could predict the outcome.

resultsTwo hundred fifty-nine patients were enrolled (median age: 60, 54% female). Overall, 202/259 of EEGs were interpreted as abnormal (78%, 95% confidence interval [CI], 73-83%). The most common abnormality was background slowing (58%, 95% CI, 52-68%) indicating underlying encephalopathy. NCS (including non-convulsive status epilepticus [NCSE]) was detected in 5% (95% CI, 3-8%) of patients. The regression analysis predicting EEG abnormality showed a highly significant effect of age (P < .001, adjusted odds ratio 1.66 [95% CI, 1.36-2.02] per 10-year age increment). IRA for EEG interpretations was modest (κ: 0.45, 95% CI, 0.36-0.54).

conclusionsThe prevalence of EEG abnormalities in ED patients with undifferentiated AMS is significant. ED physicians should consider EEG in the evaluation of patients with AMS and a high suspicion of NCS/NCSE.

Indexed as

ElectroencephalographyAgedAge FactorsBrainConsciousness DisordersEmergency Service, HospitalFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedPrevalenceProspective StudiesSeizures

Identifiers

PMID24070982
PMCPMC3815998
OpenAlexW2020291427

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.