The term ‘generalised’ in EEG reports: too much ambiguity? | Practical Neurology

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The term ‘generalised’ in EEG reports: too much ambiguity?

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Ambiguity in EEG lies in the eyes of the beholder
Nitin K. Sethi
Published on: 4 April 2012

Published on: 4 April 2012
Ambiguity in EEG lies in the eyes of the beholder
- Nitin K. Sethi, Assistant Professor of Neurology
The term generalized in EEG is certainly ambiguous and can be a cause of confusion, especially to a reader who is not formally trained in neurophysiology. As a neurology resident in training, the importance of personally reviewing the patient's CT or MRI scan was impressed upon me time and time again. Do not just take the radiologist's report at face value, look at the pictures yourself since you after seeing the patient...
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The term generalized in EEG is certainly ambiguous and can be a cause of confusion, especially to a reader who is not formally trained in neurophysiology. As a neurology resident in training, the importance of personally reviewing the patient's CT or MRI scan was impressed upon me time and time again. Do not just take the radiologist's report at face value, look at the pictures yourself since you after seeing the patient know what to look for better than the radiologist, was the pearl of wisdom imparted to me by a seasoned neurologist. While a similar argument can be made for reviewing the EEG too, interpretation of EEG is a skill which is not formally taught during residency training. So is there a way out? The answer is yes and it requires reading the body of the EEG report and not just the final impression. Is the background frequency normal or slow? What is the morphology and distribution of the spike wave discharges: slow spike and wave (secondary generalized seizure disorder) versus 4-6 Hz polyspike and wave discharges (primary generalized seizure disorder). EEG reporting truly is like trying to translate a picture into words. One though needs to see the entire picture and not just the impression at the end.
Conflict of Interest:
None declared
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Conflict of Interest:
None declared.
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