ArticleEpilepsia open2020
EEG findings in acutely ill patients investigated for SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19: A small case series preliminary report.
Article in Epilepsia open, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 78 papers, 9 of them syntheses that pooled 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.
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.
Who cites it
78 citing papers in PubMed, 9 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 143 citations in OpenAlex.
- Parallel electrophysiological abnormalities due to COVID-19 infection and to Alzheimer's disease and related dementia.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2024Pooled it
- Database and AI Diagnostic Tools Improve Understanding of Lung Damage, Correlation of Pulmonary Disease and Brain Damage in COVID-19.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Pooled it
- Non-Invasive Multimodal Neuromonitoring in Non-Critically Ill Hospitalized Adult Patients With COVID-19: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Frontiers in neurology · 2022Pooled it
- Neurological Complications of SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Children: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of tropical pediatrics · 2021Pooled it
- Central and peripheral nervous system involvement by COVID-19: a systematic review of the pathophysiology, clinical manifestations, neuropathology, neuroimaging, electrophysiology, and cerebrospinal fluid findings.BMC infectious diseases · 2021Pooled it
- COVID-19, de novo seizures, and epilepsy: a systematic review.Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2021Pooled it
- Meta-analysis of EEG findings in patients with COVID-19.Epilepsy & behavior : E&B · 2021Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Pooled it
- EEG Signatures of COVID-19 Survival compared to close contacts and the Cuban EEG normative database.Clinical neurophysiology practice · 2026Article
- Brain on Fire: How Brain Infection and Neuroinflammation Drive Worldwide Epilepsy Burden.Epilepsy currents · 2024Review
- fNIRS-based evaluation of the impact of SARS-CoV-2 infection central auditory processing.Brain and behavior · 2023Article
- Design and Evaluation of a Potential Non-Invasive Neurostimulation Strategy for Treating Persistent Anosmia in Post-COVID-19 Patients.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Incidence of Epilepsy and Seizures Over the First 6 Months After a COVID-19 Diagnosis: A Retrospective Cohort Study.Neurology · 2023Article
- Study on brain damage patterns of COVID-19 patients based on EEG signals.Frontiers in human neuroscience · 2023Article
- The clinical neurophysiology of COVID-19-direct infection, long-term sequelae and para-immunization responses: A literature review.Clinical neurophysiology practice · 2023Review
- The value of EEG attenuation in the prediction of outcome in COVID-19 patients.Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2022Article
- Changes in Electrical Brain Activity and Cognitive Functions Following Mild to Moderate COVID-19: A one-Year Prospective Study After Acute Infection.Clinical EEG and neuroscience · 2022Article
- A Near-Global Slowing of Background Activity and Epileptic Discharges in Children With Mild to Moderately Symptomatic COVID-19 Infection: An Electro-Neurophysiological Study.Clinical EEG and neuroscience · 2022Article
- Review
18 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
- Commented on by
- Erratum issuedErratum.2021
Authors and funding
21 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveAcute encephalopathy may occur in COVID-19-infected patients. We investigated whether medically indicated EEGs performed in acutely ill patients under investigation (PUIs) for COVID-19 report epileptiform abnormalities and whether these are more prevalent in COVID-19 positive than negative patients.
methodsIn this retrospective case series, adult COVID-19 inpatient PUIs underwent EEGs for acute encephalopathy and/or seizure-like events. PUIs had 8-channel headband EEGs (Ceribell; 20 COVID-19 positive, 6 COVID-19 negative); 2 more COVID-19 patients had routine EEGs. Overall, 26 Ceribell EEGs, 4 routine and 7 continuous EEG studies were reviewed. EEGs were interpreted by board-certified clinical neurophysiologists (n = 16). EEG findings were correlated with demographic data, clinical presentation and history, and medication usage. Fisher's exact test was used.
resultsWe included 28 COVID-19 PUIs (30-83 years old), of whom 22 tested positive (63.6% males) and 6 tested negative (33.3% male). The most common indications for EEG, among COVID-19-positive vs COVID-19-negative patients, respectively, were new onset encephalopathy (68.2% vs 33.3%) and seizure-like events (14/22, 63.6%; 2/6, 33.3%), even among patients without prior history of seizures (11/17, 64.7%; 2/6, 33.3%). Sporadic epileptiform discharges (EDs) were present in 40.9% of COVID-19-positive and 16.7% of COVID-19-negative patients; frontal sharp waves were reported in 8/9 (88.9%) of COVID-19-positive patients with EDs and in 1/1 of COVID-19-negative patient with EDs. No electrographic seizures were captured, but 19/22 COVID-19-positive and 6/6 COVID-19-negative patients were given antiseizure medications and/or sedatives before the EEG. SIGNIFICANCE: This is the first preliminary report of EDs in the EEG of acutely ill COVID-19-positive patients with encephalopathy or suspected clinical seizures. EDs are relatively common in this cohort and typically appear as frontal sharp waves. Further studies are needed to confirm these findings and evaluate the potential direct or indirect effects of COVID-19 on activating epileptic activity.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.