Routine EEG Interpretation Report

Facility: [Facility name]

Patient Name: [Patient full name]

MRN: [Medical record number]

DOB/Age: [Date of birth and/or age]

Study Date and Time: [Date and start–end time of recording]

Study ID/Accession: [Study ID or accession number]

Ordering Clinician: [Ordering clinician name and credentials]

Location: [Inpatient unit name / Outpatient clinic]

Clinical Indication

[Primary clinical question and relevant neurologic history] (2–5 sentences summarizing seizure/epilepsy history or concern for encephalopathy, focal lesions, and other relevant comorbidities. Include time of last known event if relevant and any prior EEG or neuroimaging that materially impacts interpretation. If limited history was provided, state what was available and explicitly note that additional history was not provided.)

Medications and Modulators

• CNS-active medications: [Antiseizure medications, benzodiazepines, sedatives, stimulants as known] (If medication list not confirmed, state: "Medication list not confirmed.")
• Sleep deprivation prior to EEG: [yes / no / unknown]
• Sedation during study: [None / agent, dose, route, time relative to recording]
• Cooperation/vigilance limitations: [None / describe limitations and impact on quality]

Technical Description

• Study Type and Duration: [Routine scalp EEG; video: yes / no], [Total recording duration in minutes], states captured: [awake / drowsy / N1 / N2 / N3 / REM]
• Electrode Array: [International 10–20 / 10–10 extensions], additional electrodes: [inferior temporal chain / none / other], impedances: [acceptable / noted issues], deviations: [none / describe]
• Montages and Channels: Both bipolar and referential montages reviewed. Polygraphic channels: [ECG / EOG / EMG / respiratory / none]
• Acquisition Parameters: Sampling rate: [__ Hz], LFF: [__ Hz], HFF: [__ Hz], notch filter: [off / 60 Hz / 50 Hz]
• Activation Procedures:
  • Eye opening/closing: [performed / not performed] (If not performed, state reason.)
  • Hyperventilation: [performed for __ minutes / not performed / contraindicated] (If omitted or contraindicated, state reason.)
  • Photic stimulation: [performed, frequency range __ Hz / not performed / contraindicated] (If omitted, state reason.)

Findings

Quality and Limitations

Technical adequacy: [Technically adequate / Limited / Uninterpretable]. [Artifacts present and impact on interpretation] (If artifact prevents answering the clinical question, state this explicitly and suggest remediation.)

Background Activity

Awake: [Symmetry and organization], posterior dominant rhythm: [__ Hz], reactivity to eye opening: [present / absent / not assessable], anterior–posterior gradient: [present / absent], [predominant background frequency and amplitude characteristics], excess beta: [present / absent], asymmetries: [none / describe]. (If awake background cannot be assessed, state reason.)

Drowsiness and Sleep: [Achieved / Not achieved]. (If achieved, document vertex waves, sleep spindles, K-complexes, and symmetry. If sleep was a goal but not achieved, document attempts and constraints.)

Activation Procedure Responses

• Eye opening/closing: [Normal alpha attenuation / abnormal response / not tested], eye-closure sensitivity: [present / absent]
• Hyperventilation: [Physiologic response / abnormal provocation / not performed], effort: [adequate / inadequate] (Describe any induced slowing or epileptiform activity.)
• Photic stimulation: [Normal photic driving / photoparoxysmal response / no driving / not performed] (Note frequencies with response and any clinical events.)

Abnormalities

• Epileptiform discharges: [None / describe morphology, localization, incidence, state dependence, activation-provoked] (If none: "No interictal epileptiform discharges were seen.")
• Focal slowing: [None / describe frequency band, localization, persistence, state dependence]
• Generalized slowing: [None / mild / moderate / severe], [predominant frequency range and organization]
• Rhythmic or periodic patterns: [None / describe pattern, distribution, periodicity, evolution, modifiers]
• Asymmetry/attenuation: [None / voltage asymmetry / breach effect / focal attenuation], [localization]

Electrographic seizures: [None recorded during this study / see Events and Seizures section below]

Events and Seizures

(Include this subsection only if clinical events or electrographic seizures were captured.)

• Count: [Number of events]
• Clinical description: [Video/technologist description] (If no clinical correlate observed, state explicitly.)
• EEG onset and pattern: [Onset location, initial pattern, evolution, spread]
• Duration: [__ seconds / minutes]
• State at onset: [Awake / drowsy / sleep stage]
• Responsiveness testing: [Findings / not tested]
• Post-event: [Postictal changes / none]

Normal Variants

(Include only if normal variants or patterns of uncertain significance were observed that could be confused with pathology.)

[Pattern name and description] (Explain why benign in this context and how it differs from epileptiform discharges if clinically relevant.)

Impression

Classification: [Normal / Abnormal / No definite abnormality]

[Concise synthesis of key findings] (2–6 lines summarizing background organization, presence/absence of interictal epileptiform discharges, focal or generalized slowing, rhythmic/periodic patterns, and seizure activity. Localize when appropriate. Use calibrated language such as "may be consistent with," "suggestive of," or "nonspecific" when uncertainty exists.)

Clinical Correlation and Recommendations

[Correlation to referral question and clinical significance] (Address how findings relate to the clinical question. Note limitations such as normal EEG not excluding epilepsy, artifact limitations, or absence of sleep. Suggest next steps when indicated: repeat EEG with sleep deprivation, ambulatory EEG, or inpatient video-EEG monitoring. Always include at least one sentence of clinical correlation even in normal studies.)