Burst suppression in sleep in a routine outpatient EEG

Burst suppression (BS) is an electroencephalogram (EEG) pattern that is characterized by brief bursts of spikes, sharp waves, or slow waves of relatively high amplitude alternating with periods of relatively flat EEG or isoelectric periods. The pattern is usually associated with coma, severe encephalopathy of various etiologies, or general anesthesia. We describe an unusual case of anoxic brain injury in which a BS pattern was seen during behaviorally defined sleep during a routine outpatient EEG study.