aEEG

[NNP2009]

Are any of your units using Amplitude Integrated Electroencephalography for assessing neurologic injury? If so, what kind of protocols do you have in place and what kind of annual competencies do the RN's have to do to stay current?

[umcRN, BSN, RN]

hmm i'm not sure what kind of EEG that is...we use regular video EEG's on my unit and the RN's really have nothing to do with it except assist the tech move the baby's head to put the leads on. Our eeg's are monitored by pedi neurologists and those neurologists can "check in" and look at the eeg wirelessly, sometimes calling up on the unit to let the doc know when a seizure is happening even from their home. If the eeg is abnormal the neurologists will sit down and discuss it with the family and neonatal docs.

From looking at various EEG's I can usually tell if one has "too much" or "too little" activity but I always refer parents to the neurologists when they have questions about them as I have no idea how to interpret them and that shouldn't be the RN's responsibility anyways. My biggest concern is getting the goop off once the eeg is over!