After
- Help the patient to remove the electrode paste with acetone
- Instruct and help patient shampoo hair
- Instruct patient who has had a sleep EEG not to drive home alone
- Ensure safety precautions until the effects of any sedatives have worn off if sleep EEG indicated
Teaching
Before
Procedure and Findings
Highlights
- Electrodes are placed on the patient's scalp to detect electrical impulses within the brain
- Normal findings are normal frequency, amplitude and characteristics of brain waves
- Abnormal findings: seizures, brain tumor, brain abscess, intracranial hemorrhage, cerebral infarct, cerebral death, encephalitis, narcolepsy (detects sleep waves during normal waking hours), metabolic encephalopathy
- Instruct the patient to wash his hair the night before the test. Patient should not use any oils or sprays
- Instruct patient not to drink any coffee, tea, cocoa, or cola the morning before the test
- Instruct patient he will need to remain still during the test
- Instruct the patient that he should not fast before the test. (Pt should eat to avoid hypoglycemia)
- Explain procedure to patient
- Assure patient that the test cannot read minds or test senility
- Assure patient that he will not feel anything during the procedure
- Instruct the patient to wash his hair the night before the test. Patient should not use any oils or sprays
- Check with physician if any medications need to be discontinued
- Instruct patient if sleeping time should be shortened the night before the test
- Instruct patient not to fast before study
- Instruct patient not to drink any coffee, tea, cocoa, or cola the morning before the test
- Instruct patient he will need to remain still during the test
During
Overview
- Procedure performed by an EEG technician so nurse is generally not present for procedure
- Help the patient to lie in a supine position
- Patient is asked to hyperventilate by breathing deeply 20 times per minute for 3 minutes
- Light may be flashed over the patient with the patient's eyes opened or closed
- Electrodes will cover prefrontal, frontal, temporal, parietal, occipital areas of the skull
- Patient may be asked to hyperventilate by breathing deeply 20 times per minute for 3 minutes
- Light may be flashed over the patient with the patient's eyes closed or opened (to detect light-stimulated seizures)
Complications/contraindication/
interfering factors
Purpose
- Fasting causing hypoglycemia
- Drinks containing caffeine
- Movement during the test
- Light can alter results
- Drugs such as sedatives
- Seizure can be induced due to the hyperventilation and flashing lights
* to identify and evaluate patients with seizures
*identify conditions involving the brain cortex
*tumors
*infarction
*abscess
*to identify brain function abnormalities
* Due to the EEG's ability to evaluate the overall electrical activity of the brain, it can be used to determine trauma and cerebral death
- EEG is primarily used for identifying epilepsy, but can also identify cerebral death as well as be used in a craniotomy
- Be sure to instruct the patient to wash his hair the night before and not to use oils or lotions
- Be sure to instruct the patient to eat before the test to avoid hypoglycemic reaction
-Be sure to instruct patient to avoid caffeinated beverages
EEG
Electroencephalography
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