Conclusion
Highly malignant EEG patterns were strongly associated with poor neurological outcome and can be considered to be predictors of death. Significance: This study increased the knowledge about the value of EEG as a tool in outcome prediction of patients after cardiac arrest.
Methods
Retrospectively, EEGs from Cardiac Arrest (CA) patients of two teaching hospitals in Lisbon were classified into 3 groups: highly malignant, malignant, and benign groups. Outcome was assessed at 6 months after CA by CPC (Cerebral Performance Categories) scale. We evaluated the accuracy of these patterns to predict poor neurological outcome and death.
Objective
To evaluate if EEG patterns considered highly malignant are reliable predictors not only of poor neurological outcome but also reliable predictors of death.
Results
We included 106 patients for analysis. All patients with a highly malignant EEG (n = 37) presented a poor neurological outcome. Those patterns were also associated with death. Malignant EEG patterns were not associated with poor neurological outcome. Benign EEG patterns were associated with good neurological recovery (p < 0.0001).
Significance
This study increased the knowledge about the value of EEG as a tool in outcome prediction of patients after cardiac arrest.