Hospital EEG Capability and Associations With Interhospital Transfer in Status Epilepticus

We examined annual change in the proportion of hospitals that were EEG capable during the study period, compared characteristics of hospitals that were EEG capable with those that were not, and fit multivariable logistic regression models to determine whether hospital EEG capability was associated with likelihood of interhospital transfer. Results Among 4,550 hospitals in 2018, 1,241 (27.3%) were EEG capable. Of these, 1,188 hospitals (95.7%) were in urban settings. From 2012 to 2018, the proportion of hospitals that were EEG capable increased in urban settings (30.5%–41.1%, Mann-Kendall [M-K] test p < 0.001) and decreased in rural settings (4.0%–3.2%, M-K p = 0.026). Among 130,580 patients hospitalized with SE, 80,725 (61.8%) presented directly to an EEG-capable hospital. However, EEG use during hospitalization varied from 8% to 98%. Initial admission to a hospital without EEG capability was associated with 22% increased likelihood of interhospital transfer (adjusted RR 1.22, [95% CI, 1.09–1.37]; p < 0.01). Among those hospitalized at an EEG-capable hospital, patients admitted to hospitals in the lowest quintile of EEG volume were more than 2 times more likely to undergo interhospital transfer (adjusted RR 2.22, [95% CI 1.65–2.93]; p < 0.001). Discussion A minority of hospitals are EEG capable yet care for most patients with SE. Inpatient EEG use, however, varies widely among EEG-capable hospitals, and lack of inpatient EEG access is associ...
Source: Neurology Clinical Practice - Category: Neurology Authors: Tags: All Health Services Research, Status epilepticus, EEG, Epilepsy monitoring, Video/ EEG use in epilepsy Research Article Source Type: research