Unified EEG terminology and criteria for nonconvulsive status epilepticus

Summary The diagnosis of nonconvulsive status epilepticus ( NCSE ) relies largely on electroencephalography ( EEG ) findings. The lack of a unified EEG terminology, and of evidence‐based EEG criteria, leads to varying criteria for and ability to diagnose NCSE . We propose a unified terminology and classification system for NCSE , using, as a template, the S tandardised C omputer‐based O rganised R eporting of EEG ( SCORE ). This approach integrates the terminology recently proposed for the rhythmic and periodic patterns in critically ill patients, the electroclinical classification of NCSE (type of NCSE ) and the context for the pathologic conditions and age‐related epilepsy syndromes. We propose flexible EEG criteria that employ the SCORE system to assemble a database for determining evidence‐based EEG criteria for NCSE .