Article type: Narrative Review
Article title: Point-of-Care EEG for Non-Convulsive Seizure and Status Epilepticus: Advances, Limitations, and Future Directions
Journal: Journal of Clinical Medicine
Year: 2026
Authors: Ana Leticia Fornari Caprara, Jamir Pitton Rissardo, Hana Rababeh, April Pivonka, Priya Shah, Kaitlyn Piotrowski, Matthew George Petruncio, Anusha Keshireddy, Zehra Jaffri, Arthur Gribachov, Ruchika Moturi, Haashim Khurram, Manisha Koneru, and Evren Burakgazi-Dalkilic
E-mail: jamirrissardo@gmail.com
ABSTRACT
Point-of-care electroencephalography (POC-EEG) has emerged as a practical tool for the rapid detection of non-convulsive seizures (NCS) and non-convulsive status epilepticus (NCSE) in acute neurological settings where access to conventional EEG is often delayed. This narrative review synthesizes current evidence on the clinical applications, tech-no-logical evolution, and limitations of POC-EEG systems across adult and pediatric populations. Available data suggest that POC-EEG is associated with earlier seizure identification, more timely antiseizure treatment decisions, and reduced dependence on inter-facility transfers in selected healthcare settings. Beyond seizure detection, POC-EEG has shown potential utility in the assessment of acute encephalopathy due to conditions such as stroke, traumatic brain injury, delirium, and post-cardiac arrest states. Recent advances in device portability and artificial intelligence-assisted interpretation have expanded accessibility, enabling use by non-specialist clinicians; however, reduced spatial resolution, artifact susceptibility, and variable performance in focal or low-burden epileptiform activity remain important limitations. Automated detection algorithms show high accuracy for sustained seizure burden but require cautious interpretation and further prospective validation. Ethical and health-system considerations, including equitable access, diagnostic stewardship, and data governance, are increasingly relevant as adoption grows. Overall, POC-EEG represents a promising adjunct to conventional EEG that may improve early diagnostic workflows in acute neurological care, while definitive impacts on long-term outcomes warrant further study.
Keywords: point-of-care EEG; non-convulsive status epilepticus; non-convulsive seizures; stroke; traumatic brain injury; delirium; artificial intelligence; accuracy; cost-effectiveness.
Full text available at:
DOI
Citation
Caprara ALF, Rissardo JP, Rababeh H, Pivonka A, Shah P, Piotrowski K, Petruncio MG, Keshireddy A, Jaffri Z, Gribachov A, et al. Point-of-Care EEG for Non-Convulsive Seizure and Status Epilepticus: Advances, Limitations, and Future Directions. J Clin Med 2026;15(4):1643. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm15041643
Table 1. Operational Definitions Used in This Review.
Table 2. Technical and clinical characteristics of selected point-of-care EEG (POC-EEG) systems reported in the literature
Table 3. Ten Key Takeaways for Clinicians Using POC-EEG.
Figure 1. Schematic illustrating the conceptual workflow of point-of-care EEG acquisition and AI-assisted clinical decision support. EEG signals are acquired at the bedside, processed for signal quality, analyzed using automated methods, and reviewed by clinicians in the context of the patient’s clinical presentation. This schematic is illustrative only and does not represent any specific commercial system.
Figure 2. Clinical applications of POC-EEG in acute neurological care. POC-EEG enables rapid bedside assessment of cerebral electrical activity in a range of acute clinical scenarios, including NCS and NCSE, stroke, traumatic brain injury, delirium, post-cardiac arrest encephalopathy, and undifferentiated neurologic presentations in emergency or after-hours settings. The surrounding nodes summarize representative clinical contexts in which POC-EEG has demonstrated diagnostic or triage utility, with selected supporting studies shown for each application.