Laboratoire de Psychologie Médicale et d'Addictologie, ULB Neuroscience Institute (UNI), CHU Brugmann-Université Libre de Bruxelles (U.L.B.), Belgium.
Kemal Arıkan Psychiatry Clinic, Istanbul, Turkey.
Clin EEG Neurosci. 2021 Jan;52(1):3-28. doi: 10.1177/1550059420954054. Epub 2020 Sep 25.
The global COVID-19 pandemic has affected the economy, daily life, and mental/physical health. The latter includes the use of electroencephalography (EEG) in clinical practice and research. We report a survey of the impact of COVID-19 on the use of clinical EEG in practice and research in several countries, and the recommendations of an international panel of experts for the safe application of EEG during and after this pandemic.
Fifteen clinicians from 8 different countries and 25 researchers from 13 different countries reported the impact of COVID-19 on their EEG activities, the procedures implemented in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and precautions planned or already implemented during the reopening of EEG activities.
Of the 15 clinical centers responding, 11 reported a total stoppage of all EEG activities, while 4 reduced the number of tests per day. In research settings, all 25 laboratories reported a complete stoppage of activity, with 7 laboratories reopening to some extent since initial closure. In both settings, recommended precautions for restarting or continuing EEG recording included strict hygienic rules, social distance, and assessment for infection symptoms among staff and patients/participants.
The COVID-19 pandemic interfered with the use of EEG recordings in clinical practice and even more in clinical research. We suggest updated best practices to allow safe EEG recordings in both research and clinical settings. The continued use of EEG is important in those with psychiatric diseases, particularly in times of social alarm such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
全球 COVID-19 大流行不仅影响了经济和日常生活，也对人们的身心健康造成了影响。后者包括在临床实践和研究中使用脑电图（EEG）。我们报告了一项针对多个国家 COVID-19 对临床 EEG 使用的影响的调查，以及一个国际专家小组针对在大流行期间和之后安全应用 EEG 的建议。
来自 8 个不同国家的 15 名临床医生和来自 13 个不同国家的 25 名研究人员报告了 COVID-19 对他们 EEG 活动的影响、为应对 COVID-19 大流行而实施的程序，以及在重新开放 EEG 活动期间计划或已经实施的预防措施。
在做出回应的 15 个临床中心中，有 11 个报告称已完全停止所有 EEG 活动，而 4 个则减少了每天的测试次数。在研究环境中，所有 25 个实验室均报告称已完全停止活动，其中 7 个实验室自最初关闭以来已在一定程度上重新开放。在这两种情况下，重启或继续 EEG 记录的建议预防措施包括严格的卫生规则、保持社交距离以及对工作人员和患者/参与者的感染症状进行评估。
COVID-19 大流行干扰了临床实践中 EEG 记录的使用，在临床研究中更是如此。我们建议更新最佳实践，以允许在研究和临床环境中安全进行 EEG 记录。在精神病患者中，特别是在 COVID-19 等社会警报时期，继续使用 EEG 非常重要。
