Nicu doctor says if a patient has a termor and you touch the patient and the extremity stops moving then it's not a seizure.

I had a patient with tremors that were witnessed by the NICU doctor and the NICU doctor stated if you touch the area that has a termor and it stops it's not a termor. He and I both touched the affected limb at different times and the patient would stop having a termors. I worry that what he stated is not true. I heard the patient had also been shipped out to a different NICU for seizures.

[NICU Guy, BSN, RN]

 To differentiate between a tremor and a seizure, place a hand on the limb that is moving. If the movement stops, it is a tremor. If the movement does not stop when you place your hand on the limb, it is a seizure movement.

[adventure_rn, MSN, NP]

Yeah, that's the textbook way to distinguish a tremor from a seizure.

Truthfully, most preemies are a bit tremulous at baseline due to their neurologic immaturity. The most common signs of true seizures in neonates are apnea, 'bicycling' type movements of the extremities (bilateral vs. unilateral, upper vs. lower), and eye deviations/staring. It's very uncommon for a baby to have a 'tonic-clonic' type seizure where their extremities are shaking.

[NICU_Nurse_Casti, BSN, RN]

Posturing is also a sign that the patient could be seizing.  But as stated above, tremors are relatively common among premature neonates.