Aben Juul, Pouwels Sjaak, Oldenbeuving Annemarie
Critical Care, Elisabeth-Tweesteden Hospital, Tilburg, NLD.
Intensive Care, Elisabeth-Tweesteden Hospital, Tilburg, NLD.
Cureus. 2025 May 22;17(5):e84628. doi: 10.7759/cureus.84628. eCollection 2025 May.
Acute encephalopathy is a rapidly developing brain disorder that is often seen in critically ill patients in the intensive care unit (ICU). This diagnosis can have multiple causes, of which sepsis is one of them. Sepsis-associated encephalopathy (SAE) indicates compromised brain function due to the accumulation of metabolic by-products or the cause of the sepsis itself. One distinctive electroencephalography (EEG) feature is the presence of polymorphic delta (PMD) waves, which can be present even before the patient has the clinical manifestations of sepsis. These PMD waves can be detected using a single-channel EEG device. In this case report, we present a patient who exhibited no overt clinical signs of sepsis or delirium, yet presented PMD waves and EEG slowing. This patient experienced two episodes of sepsis during hospitalization. This article serves as a case report to illustrate that sepsis may be detectable 'early' on a single-channel EEG due to the presence of distinct features like PMD waves.
急性脑病是一种迅速发展的脑部疾病,常在重症监护病房(ICU)的危重病患者中出现。该诊断可能有多种病因,其中脓毒症是病因之一。脓毒症相关性脑病(SAE)表明由于代谢副产物的积累或脓毒症本身的病因导致脑功能受损。一种独特的脑电图(EEG)特征是多形性δ波(PMD)的存在,甚至在患者出现脓毒症的临床表现之前就可能出现。这些PMD波可以使用单通道EEG设备检测到。在本病例报告中,我们介绍了一名患者,该患者没有明显的脓毒症或谵妄临床体征,但出现了PMD波和EEG减慢。该患者在住院期间经历了两次脓毒症发作。本文作为病例报告来说明,由于存在像PMD波这样的明显特征,脓毒症可能在单通道EEG上被“早期”检测到。