Smile! You're on Video!

Our video/EEG monitoring patients are reviewed during the neuro meeting - the video is screened, then the seizure/event is analysed and the intervention critiqued. Though I've yet to see an attempted exorcism, this has lead to a couple of amusing incidents, including several instances of voluntary movement, and at least two of patients carefully lying on the floor before 'fitting.'The best stories usually combine the embarassment and accidental humour of staff screw ups. Like the time an over-eager, know-it-all nurse who tended to be unduly influenced by House ran into a MET call for a prolonged seizure on a monitored patient and, evidently oblivious to the EEG electrodes snaking from the patient's head to the junction box, blurted out, "He's having a febrile convulsion!" Not content with her observation, she offered a diagnosis: "It could be malaria!" (Not exactly known in non-tropical Melbourne)Or the time a former neurology resident was on covering nights and hadn't realised the new Fellow required bandaging the heavy junction box to the patient's head. Called to review a patient with multiple seizures he looked at the box and asked the nurse, "What's with the ridiculous bandage?"She diplomatically responded, "The new Fellow believes it results in a better trace.""Well that's just ****ed!"She points to the camera directly above her head."Oh, ***! Well, at least they only watch the sections of seizure activity..."She pointed to the patient, who was seizing again."Oh." Waves to the camera. "Hi, Dr X."Then there was the patient whose unusual EEG reading was because he'd decided four nights was too long without relief. The masturbation was less of a problem than his decision to pull off the bed clothes and smile maniacally at the camera for the duration.

These are funny, but I have to go to the dark side on this one!! In the NICU, the EEG's are on for 24hrs of course, but when the audio recording was added, uhoh, it bit some people in the butt. There was some, uh, embarrassment when the EEG tech reported back to the Director. The alarms in the open unit were going off waayyy too long, and some of the staff conversations were not quite appropriate.Needless to say, there are now signs posted everywhere when there is an audio/visual EEG going on. Even the parents are warned.