Seizures After Cardiac Surgery -- A Study With Continuous EEG Monitoring

March 9, 2018 updated by: Michael Chu, Lawson Health Research Institute

Seizures After Cardiac Surgery -- A Prospective Study With Continuous EEG Monitoring

The aim of this study is to determine the frequency of nonconvulsive seizures after cardiac surgery using an electroencephalogram or EEG, which records brainwaves through the scalp.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Detailed Description

Background: Most patients do not have any neurological complications after cardiac surgery, but fewer than 1% may have a seizure (abnormal brain activity), with or without a convulsion. This can be due to a reaction to certain types of drugs or less commonly stroke or inflammation. Some seizures in post-operative and intensive care unit patients do not result in convulsions, but rather the abnormal brain activity simply causes confusion or unresponsiveness. The incidence of this type of "nonconvulsive"seizure after cardiac surgery is unknown.

Purpose of the study: The aim of this study is to determine the frequency of nonconvulsive seizures after cardiac surgery using an electroencephalogram or EEG, which records brainwaves through the scalp.

Design of the study: The investigators target is to enroll 150 patients undergoing cardiac surgery. The investigators are including patients greater than 18 years of age who are admitted to the CSRU immediately after cardiac surgery. Included patients are of normal mentation and are able to give their own consent. The investigators will exclude only those patients for whom technical issues prevent us from recording the EEG.

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Actual)

100

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

    • Ontario
      • London, Ontario, Canada, N6A 5A5
        • London Health Sciences Centre, University Hospital

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

All patients admitted to the CSRU postoperatively who have given informed consent to have immediate and continous EEG monitoring for the first 24 hours postoperatively

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • All adult patients able to give informed consent and undergoing cardiac surgery

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Inability to record subhairline EEG data due to technical/mechanical reasons Patients not giving informed consent

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
Continuous EEG Monitoring
Immediately after surgery, while still sedated and in the cardiac surgery recovery unit, 9 sticker electrodes applied to the skin just below the hairline, which record brain activity onto a computer. The EEG will be recorded for 24 hours. This brain activity (EEG) will later be interpreted by a neurologist who will be looking for evidence of seizure activity in the brain waves. Other relevant information: age, sex, the nature of other health problems, drugs used, complications and whether or not seizures are found will be stored on our computer for further evaluation.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Frequency of non-convulsive seizures in postoperative cardiac surgery patients
Time Frame: Immediate postoperative monitoring with continuous EEG
Immediately after surgery, while still sedated and in the cardiac surgery recovery unit, 9 sticker electrodes will be applied to the skin just below the hairline, which record brain activity onto a computer. The EEG will be recorded for 24 hours. This brain activity (EEG) will later be interpreted by a neurologist who will be looking for evidence of seizure activity in the brain waves. Other relevant information: age, sex, the nature of other health problems, drugs used, complications and whether or not seizures are found will be stored on our computer for further evaluation.
Immediate postoperative monitoring with continuous EEG

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Michael Chu, MD, London Health Sciences Centre, University Hospital

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

September 1, 2010

Primary Completion (Actual)

October 1, 2012

Study Completion (Actual)

January 1, 2013

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

February 7, 2011

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 8, 2011

First Posted (Estimate)

February 9, 2011

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

March 13, 2018

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 9, 2018

Last Verified

March 1, 2018

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

  • R-10-259
  • 17107 (Other Identifier: REB)

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

Clinical Trials on Non-convulsive Seizures

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