Order an EEG when the clinical question concerns seizures, unexplained episodic loss of awareness, or an encephalopathy where electrical information would change management. It is a low-yield test when ordered for isolated headache, dizziness or non-specific symptoms with a normal examination.
Order an EEG when the clinical question concerns seizures, unexplained episodic loss of awareness, or an encephalopathy where electrical information would change management. It is a low-yield test when ordered for isolated headache, dizziness or non-specific symptoms with a normal examination.
A first unprovoked seizure, where the EEG contributes to recurrence-risk assessment and helps classify seizure type. Recurrent stereotyped episodes where seizure is in the differential. Suspected non-convulsive status in a patient with unexplained altered awareness, which is urgent rather than an outpatient request. Assessment of encephalopathy where the pattern helps distinguish causes. Monitoring in known epilepsy when the clinical picture changes or medication is being reconsidered.
Isolated headache with a normal neurological examination. Dizziness without episodic loss of awareness. Non-specific fatigue or cognitive complaints. Syncope with a convincing cardiovascular explanation, where cardiac assessment answers the question and an EEG mainly generates incidental findings. Ordering an EEG in these situations produces a normal result that reassures nobody, or an equivocal finding that leads to further tests with no clinical gain.
A routine EEG samples a short window between episodes. For infrequent events, ambulatory EEG over several days is far more likely to capture something, and it is worth specifying which you want and why. State the clinical question rather than the test name, since a study designed around "episodes of unresponsiveness with lip smacking, twice weekly" is planned differently from one ordered as "EEG". Both routine and ambulatory EEG are performed at the Las Vegas and Henderson offices, and each is interpreted by the neurologist who ordered it.
Clinical Neurology Specialists has been physician-owned since 1998, when Leo Germin, M.D., FAANEM founded it. Five board-certified neurologists and four advanced practice providers see patients at the Las Vegas and Henderson offices, each with its own AANEM-accredited electrodiagnostic laboratory.
Clinical Neurology Specialists is an adult outpatient neurology practice for patients 18 and older. The practice performs no surgery and operates no imaging suite, infusion suite or interventional pain programme, and provides no emergency or inpatient care.
Physician-reviewed. Reviewed by the physicians of Clinical Neurology Specialists — board-certified neurologists, AANEM-accredited electrodiagnostic laboratories, physician-owned since 1998. Reviewed 1 August 2026. This article is general education for adults 18 and older and is not a substitute for a consultation.
Sources and further reading: MedlinePlus: electroencephalogram (EEG); American Academy of Neurology; MedlinePlus: epilepsy.
Adults 18 and older, at the Las Vegas and Henderson offices. Call 702-804-1212 or request an appointment online.