An assessment of the Cerebrotrac 2500 for continuous monitoring of cerebral function in the intensive care unit.

Experience of the use of the Cerebrotrac 2500 EEG monitor in 17 patients subjected to artificial ventilation in an intensive care unit is reported; seven were receiving continuous sedation with morphine, midazolam and propofol singly or in combination and 10 received both sedation and the neuromuscular blocking agent, atracurium. The processed EEG patterns could not be precisely correlated with a standard clinical scoring system but were useful in determining the adequacy of sedation, particularly when a muscle relaxant was used. The monitor also shows considerable promise in the management of the paralysed patient with widespread convulsive activity in whom ischaemic brain damage may be occurring from epileptiform activity in the absence of any clinical manifestation. The ability to detect cerebral irritability or isolated epileptiform discharges using this apparatus is, however, questionable. The equipment was easy to use and robust; the running costs were 9.5p per hour.