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ABSTRACT
The misdiagnosis of epilepsy is common and has serious consequences. A major contributor to the misdiagnosis of epilepsy is the tendency to overread normal EEGs as abnormal. In fact, the wrong diagnosis of seizures is sometimes based solely on the “abnormal” EEG. Reasons for the common overinterpretation of normal EEGs are mostly related to the lack of standards or mandatory training in EEG, and the erroneous assumption that all neurologists are trained to read EEGs. The most common overread pattern consists of benign, nonspecific, sharply contoured temporal transients. In particular, there is a common misconception that “phase reversals” are indicative of abnormality. Potential solutions include defining and ensuring EEG competency of neurologists who read EEGs, and perhaps providing a confirmatory reading by an electroencephalographer, as is done for EKGs.
GLOSSARY
- ACGME=
- Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education
Footnotes
Go to Neurology.org for full disclosures. Funding information and disclosures deemed relevant by the authors, if any, are provided at the end of the article.
- Received February 26, 2012.
- Accepted May 29, 2012.
- © 2012 American Academy of Neurology
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