Clinical significance and value of abnormal electroencephalographic discharges in children with tic disorders

WANG Juan; LI Xuening; YUAN Qiang; ZHANG Yanfeng; BAI Xue; LI Fengtong; SHI Li; ZHAO Xin

doi:10.11852/zgetbjzz2025-0771

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Chinese Journal of Child Health Care ›› 2026, Vol. 34 ›› Issue (9) : 1024-1028. DOI: 10.11852/zgetbjzz2025-0771

Child Development and Behavior

Clinical significance and value of abnormal electroencephalographic discharges in children with tic disorders

WANG Juan¹, LI Xuening², YUAN Qiang¹, ZHANG Yanfeng¹, BAI Xue¹, LI Fengtong¹, SHI Li¹, ZHAO Xin¹

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Abstract

Objective To retrospectively analyze the video electroencephalogram (VEEG) features of children preliminarily diagnosed with tic disorder (TD), and to explore the significance and value of EEG in diagnosis and differential diagnosis, so as to provide a reference for the clinical management of children with TD. Methods A retrospective analysis was performed on VEEG data from 258 children who were preliminarily considered to have TD during clinical diagnosis at the Department of Pediatrics, Yan'an People's Hospital, between January 2021 and June 2024. Results Among the 258 children, there were 188 boys (72.9%) and 70 girls (27.1%), with a male-to-female ratio of 2.7∶1.VEEG results showed 172 cases (66.7%) within normal limits, 31 cases (12.0%) with borderline findings, and 55 cases (21.3%) with abnormalities.Notably, 3 cases were ultimately diagnosed with epilepsy.VEEG abnormalities were frequently observed during both wakefulness and sleep stages.Non-specific abnormalities mainly consisted of slow background activity and atypical sharp or spike waves.Specific abnormalities presented as focal and/or generalized epileptiform discharges, with focal discharges being predominant.The discharge locations varied, most frequently involving the central, parietal, and/or middle-posterior temporal regions.A small number of children exhibited photosensitivity.No statistically significant differences were found in the distribution of VEEG results between genders or across different age groups (P>0.05).Among the 174 children assessed using the Yale Global Tic Severity Scale (YGTSS), 28 (16.1%) presented with VEEG abnormalities.There were no statistically significant differences in YGTSS results regarding gender or age (P>0.05).Furthermore, no significant correlation was found between tic severity and VEEG findings (P>0.05). Conclusions Borderline and abnormal VEEG findings are relatively common in children with a preliminary diagnosis of TD.However, these findings do not differ significantly based on gender, age, or tic severity.VEEG is an important tool for the diagnosis and differential diagnosis of children with suspected TD.

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electroencephalogram / abnormal discharge / tic disorders / children

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WANG Juan, LI Xuening, YUAN Qiang, ZHANG Yanfeng, BAI Xue, LI Fengtong, SHI Li, ZHAO Xin. Clinical significance and value of abnormal electroencephalographic discharges in children with tic disorders[J]. Chinese Journal of Child Health Care. 2026, 34(9): 1024-1028 https://doi.org/10.11852/zgetbjzz2025-0771

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