Neurosciences

• On the Day of Admission

  Please come to the UTMB John Sealy Hospital. We will tell you what time to arrive. You can park in the Public Parking Garage 1. The front of the hospital is a short walk; ask the information desk assistants for directions to Unit 9C/EMU. Please be aware you will need to bring your health insurance cards with you.

  Next you will go to your assigned room in the Epilepsy Monitoring Unit (EMU), on the 9th Floor of the John Sealy Hospital. You will have the EEG electrodes placed on your head in your room.

• In the EMU Room

  Once you are hooked up, you will not be able to leave the room.

  Your length of stay will depend on how long it takes us to record your seizures. We often just need to see 1 or 2 of your typical seizures. Plan to be admitted to the hospital on Monday morning and discharged on Friday morning. This may be shorter depending on you and your seizures. On the day of admission, continue taking your morning medicines as usual. Any medication adjustments will be made by the doctor once you are admitted and in the EMU.

  When you have a seizure, be sure you or the person staying with you will press the event push button. This is how the epileptologist reading your EEG knows that you have identified your event. Also, please record on the log sheet whether your seizure was typical or not. If you are not aware of your seizure, your family or significant other who stays with you during the EMU stay can do this for you. If you get a warning or aura, please push the button.

  If you are a smoker, please talk to a nurse once you get to your room about the options for nicotine replacement during your stay at the hospital. Smoking is NOT allowed anywhere in the hospital or on the hospital campus.

  Your electrodes will be checked daily. We may reattach or add conducting gel to make sure we get a good recording. These electrodes will stay on until you are discharged.

  You will not be able to wash or comb your hair during the recording. Please wash your hair with shampoo before you are admitted. Do not use any mousses, gels, oils, creams, hair spray or conditioner in your hair. If you have braids or dreadlocks, please try to have your hair unbraided for the EEG hookup. This will make the hookup more comfortable for you, and will allow the electrodes to work better.

  You will have a private room. In each room, you will notice that there is a video camera and microphone on the EEG recording device. There should be pads on the side rails of your bed. If you do not see these pads, please notify your nurse. Please keep the side rails up at all times for your safety.

  We suggest having a family member, spouse, or friend stay with you while you are admitted/being monitored. This is important for several reasons. Family members, spouses, or friends know you and may know what your seizures look like and can tell us if the seizures you have are typical or not. They will be able to help you if you are in a situation where you could hurt yourself during the seizures. If you cannot find someone to stay with you during the admission, please contact our epilepsy coordinator at (409) 772-1450.

  There is cable TV and a phone in your room. Your phone has a number on it which family and friends can use to call you directly. Please check your patient information pamphlet that you receive the day you are admitted for more details.

  The cable on your EEG unit is long enough for you to get up and use the bathroom to wash, brush your teeth and use the toilet. However, you must call your nurse for help when you need to get out of bed. While you are using the bathroom, you are required to keep the door open at least for a few inches for your safety. You may get up and sit in a chair with your nurse’s assistance. You will not be videotaped while you are in the bathroom, but try to make sure that you are on video any other time that you move around your room.

• During Testing

  Your nurse will check on you periodically through the day and night. They will obtain your blood pressure and other vital signs. A capped intravenous line will be placed in one of your veins. This is mandatory and for your safety. If you have a very severe seizure or a lot more seizures than normal we can give you medicine to stop them through this IV line. It will be checked every shift by your nurse to make sure it is working.

  We will probably decrease or stop your antiepileptic medicine while you are in the hospital to try to trigger your seizures. We might also deprive you of sleep to try to bring on a seizure. This means you would stay up very late and only get a couple of hours of sleep. The lack of sleep increases the chance of seizures; therefore we do not want you to sleep during the day. We also may make you breathe deeply and flash lights to provoke an event. These are similar to the procedures performed when you have a routine EEG and sometimes will bring on seizures. Also, if you are aware of anything that makes you more likely to have a seizure, please let us know.

  A physician will visit you daily and update you on your progress. We will discuss what information we have so far and what you can expect next. This is a good time for you to bring up any questions you or your family may have.

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A routine EEG lasts about half an hour. It gives us a “Snapshot” of the brain’s activity during that particular recording period. It may not give us enough information to help you with your seizure problem. Our recording has three parts:

1. VIDEO: A camera will record all your physical activity while your brain waves are being recorded on the EEG. By videotaping your seizures we can see exactly what happens before, during, and after one of your events. This allows us a more accurate picture of your seizures.
2. EEG RECORDING: You will also have a continuous EEG recording. This will allow us to detect any seizure activity that occurs, even if you are not aware it is happening. The EEG helps us decide in what portion of your brain your seizures begin, and gives us information about your brain wave activity between seizures. It also will help us decide if your seizures are due to epilepsy or some other cause.
3. AUDIO: Please be aware that there are also microphones in the room to help us fully capture exactly what happens during your seizure.

This Epilepsy Monitoring Unit evaluation with state of the art continuous video-EEG monitoring is highly specialized and is available only in hospitals employing epilepsy specialists. Our staff of EEG technologists and nurses is very experienced in caring for people with seizures. Our doctors have advanced training in EEG interpretation and epilepsy treatment. We feel our EMU offers you the best chance for receiving a comprehensive and expert evaluation of your seizure disorder.

This complex testing is to evaluate the cause of the events you are experiencing. Your doctor has asked for this testing to determine what would be the best treatment for you and this testing will provide valuable information to make those decisions. We may find that your events are caused by epileptic seizures and find clues as to where in the brain the seizures are coming from. However, sometimes patients are found to have something different from epileptic seizures. In spite of the vigorous tests, sometimes we cannot tell you definitively about the diagnosis if we were not able to capture the typical seizure or event, however; this is not a common occurrence. In fact, most patients that are admitted to the EMU do have at least one seizure or event occur, and sometimes we are able to obtain a diagnosis even if the patient does not have any events.

We will talk to you about your testing before you go home. In spite of the tests, sometimes we cannot tell definitively about what your spells are if we were not able to capture your typical seizure or event. Also, some epileptic seizures may not be visible on the scalp EEG.

We also will tell you if we think you will need any more tests or need to see any other doctors. Your local doctor will receive a report of our testing shortly after you go home.

1. You will be able to wear your own shorts, pants, or sweat suit bottoms. It is important not to disturb the electrodes. You need to wear tops that button or zip down the front or back and can be removed without pulling them over your head.

   We can give you “tie in the back” hospital gowns. Please bring your slippers, bath robe, toothbrush, toothpaste, mouthwash, dental floss, shaver, and deodorant with you. You can also bring makeup.

2. Video EEG telemetry can become very boring. Bring along some things that will help you pass the time. Books, magazines, puzzles, games, cards, cassette/CD players or DVD players are types of things you may bring. You may bring a portable laptop computer. However, it may cause some artifact on EEG. If this is the case, then we will ask you to turn off the electronics. Cell phone use is allowed in your room.

3. We will provide the medicines you need during your admission. However, please bring all of your medicine bottles with you (both prescription and over-the-counter) so we can see what you are taking. If you take a special medicine that would be hard to get, please tell us. We will either arrange to get it here or ask you to bring it with you.

4. We will provide meals for the patient, but the family member will need to provide their own food. You can feel free to bring non-perishable food from home (granola bars, crackers, etc). There is also a cafeteria in the hospital.

5. You can bring your own pillow, comforter, stuffed animal, or family photos to help you feel more comfortable.

DO NOT BRING:

Do not bring electrical appliances such as hair dryers, electric razors, space heaters or coffee makers. Larger radios with plug in and TVs are also not allowed due to the electrical safety rules of the hospital. Please do not bring frozen food or any food requiring refrigerator or microwaves.

We have hospital staff that work on getting a pre-authorization for your admission, and we make every effort prior to your admission to get this completed. However, ultimately it is your responsibility to make sure the authorization is in place before you come into the hospital. We recommend that you contact your insurance company at least one day prior to the admission to check on any problems that may occur, and to get an idea of what out-of-pocket expenses you may be responsible for. Please note that some of the hospital charges may not be covered by your insurance plan. The hospital has financial advisors to help if you need it. Please contact the hospital’s financial advisors ahead of time if you feel it is necessary.

Chaplain: Services of the hospital chaplain are available to all patients and their families. Your personal clergy person is also welcome to visit. The Chapel is on the 1st floor of the hospital. Family members can visit the chapel, but patients cannot leave the room.

Accommodations: Only one family member/guest is allowed to stay in the patient’s room overnight. A reclining hospital chair/cot is available for your guest. We can provide you with a list of local motels if other family members or friends wish to stay near the hospital while you are here.