Clinical features of infants with breath-holding spells and the characteristics of electroencephalogram as well as heart rate during the episode / 中华实用儿科临床杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To analyze the electroencephalogram (EEG) characteristics, heart rate (HR) changes and clinical characteristics during the episode of breath-holding spells(BHS), thus providing refe-rences for the differential diagnosis of infants with BHS.Methods:This was a retrospective single-center analysis involving consecutive 14 infants with HBS admitted in Wuhan Children′s Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science & Technology from November 2016 to December 2019.Results:A total of 16 episodes of crying-induced BHS were detected in the EEG of 14 infants, of which 3 were mild episodes without loss of consciousness and 13 were severe episodes with loss of consciousness.During the mild episodes, EEG presented a phase with slow-slow mode, and the average duration of each phase was (23.3±5.8) s and (16.7±5.8) s, respectively.In addition, the average recovery time from unconsciousness in 13 severe episodes was (16.7±12.3) s. Among the 13 severe episodes, EEG of 12 episodes presented a phase with slow-flat-slow mode, and the average duration of each phase was (26.4±8.5) s, (8.0±5.1) s and (84.6±46.6) s, respectively.Besides, the second slow wave phase usually started by the generalized delta rhythm with predominance in leads of anterior brain, with the average duration at (6.7±1.5) s. During the 16 episodes of BHS, cyanosis occurred in the first phase of slow wav, and loss of consciousness occurred in the flat phase.Transient bradycardia was observed in the second slow wave phase of 7 episodes, the first slow wave phase of 4 episodes and the flat phase of 2 episodes.Conclusions:Typical EEG pattern of in infants with mild BHS is slow-slow mode, and most of them with severe BHS is slow-flat-slow mode.In the first slow wave phase, slow wave always evolves rapidly.The unconsciousness mostly occurs in the flat period, the lasting time of which is closely related to the duration of the flat phase.The generalized delta rhythm with predominance in leads of anterior brain mostly starts in the second slow wave phase.A brief bradycardia often accompanies with the episodes of BHS in infants.