EEG characteristics related to educational impairments in children with benign childhood epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes

PURPOSE: Learning and behavioral difficulties often occur in benign childhood epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes (BCECTS). In recent years, several electroencephalogram (EEG) characteristics have been related to the occurrence of learning and behavioral problems.

METHODS: From 28 children medical, school and psychological reports were present and children were rated according to a 4-point scale for educational and behavioral impairment (Part 1). Thirty 24-h EEG recordings were reanalyzed for spike frequency, the presence of atypical EEG criteria, and the presence of a nondipole spike. EEGs were scored during wakefulness, first hour of sleep and whole night sleep (minus the first hour of sleep) separately (Part 2).

RESULTS: The presence of I: an intermittent slow-wave focus during wakefulness, II: a high number of spikes in the first hour of sleep (and during whole night sleep), and III: multiple asynchronous bilateral spike-wave foci in the first hour of sleep correlates significantly with a sum score > or = 3 which indicates a complicated course with educational or behavioral impairment. It is sufficient to analyze an EEG during wakefulness and a sleep EEG for only the first hour of sleep instead of a whole night recording to demonstrate those EEG criteria.

CONCLUSIONS: On basis of our reanalysis we can possibly conclude that the aforementioned EEG characteristics correlate with educational impairments, and that analysing an EEG recording during wake and the first hour of sleep is sufficient to look adequately for those EEG criteria in children with BCECTS.