Psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES) – Pseudoseizures

Clinic A/P, adults, Clinic A/P, Peds, Hospital A/P, Adults, Hospital A/P, Peds

The gold standard for diagnosis of PNES is Inpatient video-electroencephalography (vEEG) monitoring.

Things that have been used but are unreliable:

  • presence or absence of self-injury and incontinence,
  • the ability to induce seizures by suggestion,
  • psychologic tests, and
  • ambulatory EEG.

These are insufficient for diagnosing PNES.

 

Further Reading / References

Psychogenic nonepileptic seizures. Am Fam Physician 2005;72(5):849-856.

Adams and Victor’s Principles of Neurology, ed 10. McGraw-Hill, 2014, p 332.

Goldman L, Schafer AI (eds): Goldman’s Cecil Medicine, ed 25. Elsevier Saunders, 2016, p 2403.

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