Purpose: Home Video Telemetry (HVT) combines ambulatory EEG with simultaneous video recording. No previous reports have compared HVT and inpatient video telemetry (IVT) in a purely paediatric population. This study compares HVT and IVT in this group in terms of diagnostic efficacy, recording quality and acceptability to parents/carers.
Methods: 33 HVT and 29 IVT patients aged 1-17 years were included. Information regarding patient demographics, ictal capture, diagnostic utility, recording quality (e.g. video clarity, EEG artefacts) and parent/carer preferences was documented. Difficulties using HVT equipment were recorded.
Results: 62% of IVT patients and 64% of HVT patients had typical attacks during the recording. 59% of IVT and 70% of HVT recordings were considered to have answered the referral question. Study quality was similar in both groups. In HVT studies the rate of equipment difficulties was 52%; problems included camera positioning and failure to turn on the infrared button at night. Diagnostic information was lost in 15% of patients. 76% of parents/carers of HVT patients would choose this investigation again.
Conclusions: The diagnostic efficacy and study quality of HVT and IVT are similar in paediatric patients. HVT is acceptable to most parents/carers. User error may compromise the investigation in a minority of cases but did not impact on diagnostic utility. Adoption of HVT investigation could provide an accessible and economic alternative to IVT.
Keywords: EEG; Epilepsy; Paediatric; Seizure; Telemetry.
Copyright © 2018 British Epilepsy Association. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.