Electroencephalographic Monitoring and the Anesthesiologist

A Itho ugh electroencephalographic instrumentation in the operating room has been available for many years, it has been utilized only rarely for specific tasks and has not attained any wide-spread popularity. It occupies a low priority for routine monitoring and is used much less frequently than devices that measure pulse and temperature. In the majority of American hospitals, an EEG cannot be obtained conveniently. Patients who require the test for emergency reasons may have to wait several days to get a report. There are numerous reasons for the failure of electroencephalographic monitoring to attain general acceptance.