Effectiveness of Sleep Deprivation for Electroencephalographic Recordings in Children with Epilepsy with or Without Cerebral Palsy at a Nigerian Tertiary Hospital

Mikailu Abubakar Jangebe¹, Hamidu Ahmed¹, Murtala Muhammad Ahmad¹, Fatima Bello Jiya¹, Joy Adama Legbo¹, Khadijat Omeneke Isezuo¹, Ahmed Kubrat¹, Fatima Abubakar Ishaq¹, Surajo Ibrahim¹

Keywords: Sleep deprivation, sleep induction, EEG, children, epilepsy, cerebral palsy

DOI: 10.63475/yjm.v4i2.00117

DOI URL: https://doi.org/10.63475/yjm.v4i2.00117

Publish Date: 22-09-2025

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Pages: 349 - 354

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Author Affiliation:

1 Consultant, Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto, Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Epilepsy and cerebral palsy (CP) are reported as the two most common indications for electroencephalogram (EEG) requests in children in Nigeria. Although several studies have examined epilepsy and EEG findings in the country, most have not documented the conditions under which EEG recordings were performed—whether during wakefulness, natural sleep, sleep deprivation, or drug-induced sleep. This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of sleep deprivation and the use of melatonin in achieving sleep EEG recordings in children with epilepsy and CP versus those with epilepsy without CP, at the Pediatric Neurology Clinic of Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto, Nigeria.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional comparative study involving children aged 6 months to 15 years, conducted between March 2022 and February 2023. A total of 121 subjects with epilepsy associated with CP (Group 1) and 124 subjects with epilepsy not associated with CP (Group 2) were consecutively recruited. Conventional inter-ictal sleep EEG recordings were performed using an EEG machine (Model: Satellite P200-132, Toshiba Europe GmbH, DC 19V, 3.4A). Data were analyzed using SPSS version 25.0, and a p-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results: Of the subjects with epilepsy and CP (Group 1), 67 (55.4%) achieved sleep EEG recordings following sleep deprivation, while 54 (44.6%) required sleep induction with melatonin. Among subjects with epilepsy without CP, 107 (86.3%) attained sleep EEG recordings after sleep deprivation, whereas 17 (13.7%) required melatonin-induced sleep. The difference between the two groups regarding the need for melatonin to induce sleep was statistically significant (p < 0.001).

Conclusions: Sleep deprivation was more effective in achieving sleep EEG recordings in children with epilepsy who did not have CP.

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