The Lancet Neurology

Diagnostic accuracy of the Salzburg EEG criteria for non-convulsive status epilepticus: a retrospective study

Markus Leitinger, MD, Prof Eugen Trinka, MD, Elena Gardella, MD, Alexandra Rohracher, MD, Gudrun Kalss, MD, Erisela Qerama, MD, Julia Höfler, MD, Alexander Hess, MD, Georg Zimmermann, MSc, Giorgi Kuchukhidze, MD, Judith Dobesberger, MD, Patrick B Langthaler, BSc, Dr Sándor Beniczky, MD

Lancet September 2016 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1474-4422(16)30137-5

Background: Several EEG criteria have been proposed for diagnosis of non-convulsive status epilepticus (NCSE), but none have been clinically validated. We aimed to assess the diagnostic accuracy of the EEG criteria proposed by a panel of experts at the fourth London-Innsbruck Colloquium on Status Epilepticus in Salzburg, 2013 (henceforth called the Salzburg criteria).

Interpretation: The Salzburg criteria for diagnosis of NCSE have high diagnostic accuracy and excellent inter-rater agreement, making them suitable for implementation in clinical practice.