Neurologic diagnostic procedures

Abstract Neurologic diagnostic procedures are usually not used for preliminary screening of patients, except in emergency situations. This may be when a complete neurological evaluation is justified to rule out severe neurological disease, such as subarachnoid hemorrhage or stroke. Testing is guided by the evidence revealed during patient history and physical examination. Neurologic diagnostic procedures include, but are not limited to lumbar puncture, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, encephalography, cerebral catheter angiography, duplex Doppler ultrasonography, myelography, electroencephalography, and electromyography. Historically, neurologists believed that diagnosis almost always could be made by localizing a lesion, using patient history and examination. Authors still believe that localization of the lesion through examination and history is the most important step toward arriving on a correct diagnosis. With the advent of technology, however, neurologists are now more dependent on various diagnostic tests. New imagining techniques proved that localization through the neurological exam and history was not always accurate.