Open AccessAlpha coma evolving into spindle coma in a case of acute fulminant hepatic failure: What does it signify?
Author(s) -
Abhijit Das,
Ajith Cherian,
Gopal Krishna Dash,
Ashalatha Radhakrishnan
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
annals of indian academy of neurology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.427
H-Index - 31
eISSN - 1998-3549
pISSN - 0972-2327
DOI - 10.4103/0972-2327.61285
Subject(s) - coma (optics) , medicine , etiology , fulminant , hepatic encephalopathy , encephalopathy , electroencephalography , fulminant hepatic failure , anesthesia , gastroenterology , pathology , psychiatry , cirrhosis , physics , transplantation , optics , liver transplantation
A 44-year-old male developed acute fulminant hepatic failure of unknown etiology and expired within four days. His serial electroencephalograms (EEGs) showed diffuse background slowing on day one, which evolved into "alpha coma" and later into "spindle coma" over the ensuing two days. Such EEG transition is hitherto undescribed in patients with hepatic encephalopathy and gives fresh insight into the etiopathogenesis of specific EEG patterns in diffuse encephalopathy.