Possible detection of cardiac arrhythmia in routine electroencephalography recordings of children

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Recently, the relationships between epilepsy and cardiac arrhythmias have been increasingly investigated by using long-term electroencephalography (EEG) monitoring and electrocardiography (ECG) channels. However, the use of ECG channels in short-term EEG recordings, which we refer to as routine, varies according to the center. This study is aimed to evaluate cardiac arrhythmias by using ECG channels in routine EEG recordings. METHODS: patients with at least 20 min of artifact-free routine EEG recordings were included. Children with known cardiac diseases were excluded from the study. Age, sex, reason for the EEG request, type of arrhythmia and drugs used by the patients were recorded. RESULTS: The routine EEGs of 1,384 children were analyzed. Cardiac arrhythmia was found in 2.5% (N.=34) of patients. The most common arrhythmia was atrioventricular block. CONCLUSIONS: ECG channels for routine EEG recordings in children are a simple and useful tool for detecting cardiac arrhythmias.