Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34033234›Full record

ArticleEpilepsia open2021

Hyperventilation maneuver during EEG in children with epilepsy after the COVID-19 pandemic. Is a routine procedure necessary?

Loreto Ríos-Pohl, Macarena Franco, Magdalena Gonzalez

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Epilepsia open, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
0.8field-weighted citation impact, top 31% 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

4 citing papers in PubMed, 8 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Review
  4. 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

3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Loreto Ríos-PohlClinica Integral de Epilepsia Infanto-juvenil, Santiago, Chile.ORCID 0000-0001-5004-4237
Macarena FrancoServicio de Neurología Infantil, Hospital San Pablo, Coquimbo, Chile.ORCID 0000-0003-4412-434X
Magdalena GonzalezClinica Integral de Epilepsia Infanto-juvenil, Santiago, Chile.
Clínica Alemana · CL

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveHyperventilation (HV) is one of the main and basic activation methods during ambulatory electroencephalogram (EEG), unless medical reasons contraindicate it. During the COVID-19 pandemic, with the high risk of human-to-human infection, local guidelines and recommendations have been developed that suggest not to perform the HV maneuver routinely. Our objective was to characterize patients who present positive HV in an epilepsy center.

methodsWe analyzed retrospectively all the ambulatory EEGs performed during one year in our specialized ambulatory child and adolescent epilepsy center, and describe patients with positive maneuver.

resultsA total of 305 EEGs were performed. Patients under 3 years and 11 months were excluded as well as all patients that did not fill up the criteria for epilepsy diagnosis. From the 252 EEGs that were included in the study, 194 EEGs (77%) were classified as abnormal and 58 (23%) as normal. From these same 252 EEGs, 150 EEG finished correctly the HV maneuver. Physiological slowing response was found in 54 EEGs (36%), no changes (negative) in 83 (55%), and abnormal response (positive) in 13 EEGs (9%). The 13 HV-positive EEGs showed 4 patients with an increase of epileptiform activity, 3 patients experienced an increase of basal preregistered abnormal slowing, and 6 EEGs showed trigger of bilaterally synchronous and symmetric 2-4 Hz spike-and-slow wave discharges and absences. None of these last 6 patients needed more than 3 minutes to elicit the paroxysmal discharge. SIGNIFICANCE: Based on these findings and according with other studies, the low positivity and high specificity of the HV maneuver support the idea that HV could be excluded during the COVID-19 pandemic situation, and also reevaluate whether it could be changed to a complementary maneuver, restricted only for cases where absence epilepsy is suspected. Larger studies will be needed to reaffirm this proposal.

Indexed as

Ambulatory CareCOVID-19Epilepsy, AbsenceAdolescentChildChileDiagnostic Techniques, NeurologicalElectroencephalographyFemaleHumansHyperventilationMaleRetrospective StudiesSARS-CoV-2SeizuresSensitivity and Specificityabsence childhood epilepsyclinical seizure; generalized epileptiform dischargesCOVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; EEG activationhyperventilation

Identifiers

PMID34033234
PMCPMC8166799
OpenAlexW3158024235

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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.