Background

During COVID-19 lockdown, non-urgent medical procedures were suspended. Grade of urgency of electroencephalography (EEG) may vary according to the clinical indication, setting, and status of infection of SARS-CoV-2 virus. “Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology” (SINC), “Italian League Against Epilepsy” (LICE), and the “Italian Association of Neurophysiology Technologists” (AITN) aimed to provide clinical and technical recommendation for EEG indications and recording standards in this pandemic era.

Methods

Presidents of SINC, LICE, and AITN endorsed three members per each society to formulate recommendations: classification of the degree of urgency of EEG clinical indications, management and behavior of physicians and neurophysiology technologists, hygiene and personal protection standards, and use of technical equipment.

Results

Scientific societies endorsed a paper conveying the recommendation for EEG execution in accordance with clinical urgency, setting (inpatients/outpatients), status of SARS-CoV-2 virus infection (positive, negative and uncertain), and phase of governmental restrictions (phase 1 and 2). Briefly, in phase 1, EEG was recommended only for those acute/subacute neurological symptoms where EEG is necessary for diagnosis, prognosis, or therapy. Outpatient examinations should be avoided in phase 1, while they should be recommended in urgent cases in phase 2 when they could prevent an emergency room access. Reduction of staff contacts must be encouraged through rescheduling job shifts. The use of disposable electrodes and dedicated EEG devices for COVID-19-positive patients are recommended.

Conclusions

During the different phases of COVID-19 pandemic, the EEG should be reserved for patients really benefiting from its execution in terms of diagnosis, treatment, prognosis, and avoidance of emergency room access.

中文翻译：

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SARS-CoV-2 爆发期间的脑电图：意大利神经生理学学会 (SINC)、意大利抗癫痫联盟 (LICE) 和意大利神经生理学技术专家协会 (AITN) 工作组的实用建议。

背景

在 COVID-19 封锁期间，非紧急医疗程序被暂停。脑电图 (EEG) 的紧急程度可能因 SARS-CoV-2 病毒的临床适应症、环境和感染状态而异。“意大利临床神经生理学学会”（SINC）、“意大利抗癫痫联盟”（LICE）和“意大利神经生理学技术专家协会”（AITN）旨在为大流行时代的脑电图适应症和记录标准提供临床和技术建议.

方法

SINC、LICE 和 AITN 的主席批准了每个学会的三个成员制定建议：脑电图临床适应症的紧急程度分类、医生和神经生理学技术人员的管理和行为、卫生和个人防护标准以及技术设备的使用。

结果

科学协会批准了一篇论文，根据临床紧急程度、环境（住院/门诊）、SARS-CoV-2 病毒感染状态（阳性、阴性和不确定）以及政府限制阶段（第一阶段和2）。简而言之，在第 1 阶段，EEG 仅推荐用于诊断、预后或治疗需要 EEG 的急性/亚急性神经系统症状。在第 1 阶段应避免门诊检查，而应在第 2 阶段建议在紧急情况下进行，因为它们可能会妨碍急诊室的进入。必须通过重新安排工作轮班来鼓励减少员工接触。建议对 COVID-19 阳性患者使用一次性电极和专用脑电图设备。

结论

在 COVID-19 大流行的不同阶段，脑电图应保留给真正受益于诊断、治疗、预后和避免进入急诊室的患者。