[Electroencephalography in hepatic coma: therapy with hemoperfusion (author's transl)].

Six patients (two men and four women) aged between 15 and 60 years in hepatic coma stage IV and with very severe EEG changes were treated with hemoperfusion. The causes leading to coma were acute virus hepatitis A in two cases, hepatitis B in three cases, and Amanita intoxication in one case. Only the patient with Amanita intoxication survived. On admission to the hospital, there were very severe EEG changes of stage IV in all patients. They preceded the clinical manifestation of coma stage IV up to one day in half of the patients who were at most in coma stage II at this time. At the beginning of therapy better survival chances are reported in the lower coma stages. On the basis of the severely pathological EEG findings preceding the clinical coma in a proportion of the patients, an earlier start of therapy should thus be demanded.