While in the hospital, the EEG and videotape will run at all times, in order to record a spontaneous seizure. At times, lower than usual doses of medicine are given to help a seizure occur. If a patient does not have one or more seizures after 6 to 10 days of monitoring, he or she may be sent home to come back at a later date. Recording seizures is important to help make the correct diagnosis and suggest the best treatment. A patient may be admitted to the hospital if the physician needs more information about the condition than can be obtained in the outpatient setting.
Testing is done to diagnose the type of seizure disorder the patient has.
This type of admission is for the purpose of making medication changes in a safe place. Presurgical Evaluation Presurgical evaluation usually takes place during several admissions and includes many types of tests. During each admission, more information is gathered. In the end, the physician will be able to give the patient and family information about any benefit from surgery. If epilepsy surgery is offered, the patient and family must be fully informed and willing to continue with every phase of the evaluation.