• Dragos A Nita, Mihai Moldovan, Roy Sharma, Sinziana Avramescu, Hiroshi Otsubo, and Cecil D Hahn.
• Division of Neurology and Program in Neurosciences and Mental Health, The Hospital for Sick Children, and Department of Paediatrics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
• Clin Neurophysiol. 2016 Aug 1; 127 (8): 2921-2930.

ObjectiveBurst-suppression is an electroencephalographic pattern observed during coma. In individuals without known brain pathologies undergoing deep general anesthesia, somatosensory stimulation transiently increases the occurrence of bursts. We investigated the reactivity of burst-suppression in children with acquired brain injury.MethodsIntensive care unit electroencephalographic monitoring recordings containing burst-suppression were obtained from 5 comatose children with acquired brain injury of various etiologies. Intermittent photic stimulation was performed at 1Hz for 1min to assess reactivity. We quantified reactivity by measuring the change in the burst ratio (fraction of time in burst) following photic stimulation.ResultsPhotic stimulation evoked bursts in all patients, resulting in a transient increase in the burst ratio, while the mean heart rate remained unchanged. The regression slope of the change in burst ratio, referred to as the standardized burst ratio reactivity, correlated with subjects' Glasgow Coma Scale scores.ConclusionsReactivity of the burst-suppression pattern to photic stimulation occurs across diverse coma etiologies. Standardized burst ratio reactivity appears to reflect coma severity.SignificanceMeasurement of burst ratio reactivity could represent a simple method to monitor coma severity in critically ill children.Copyright © 2016 International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

24 keywords...

hide…