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The breach rhythm

2011; Elsevier BV; Volume: 122; Issue: 11 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/j.clinph.2011.07.024

1872-8952

Francesco Brigo, Rosario Cicero, Antonio Fiaschi, Luigi Giuseppe Bongiovanni,

Functional Brain Connectivity Studies

Electroencephalography (EEG) recordings obtained after craniotomy are difficult to interpret because of the presence of a breach rhythm (BR) consisting of unfiltered high-voltage physiological waveforms, sometimes with a spiky and irregular morphology, that can mimic interictal epileptiform abnormalities and may therefore lead to misinterpretations. In this article, we review EEG features of BR and give some technical tips to properly interpret BR and to make a correct differential diagnosis with epileptiform abnormalities. As BR itself has no relationship to epilepsy, it is very important to adopt a “conservative” reading, having a high threshold to call epileptiform abnormalities.