Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

D Shantz

Publications and source records attributed to D Shantz.

4 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2000

Closed head injury resulting in paradoxical improvement of a seizure disorder.

People with epilepsy are prone to head injuries and these traumas are usually considered adverse events. We report the case of a 31-year-old woman who sustained a closed head injury as a result of a seizure. This accidental trauma resulted in a 1-year remission of her previously intractable complex partial seizures. The paradoxical improvement of a seizure disorder can occur as a result of a closed head injury. We postulate it simulated ablative epilepsy surgery.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Subacute postictal aggression.

OBJECTIVE: To address clinical features of subacute postictal aggression, we examined aggressive behavior beginning hours to days after the acute confusional postictal period. METHODS: Six patients from our database of 1300 were assessed. Data was obtained from the patients, their family and caretakers, and medical records. One patient was studied with closed circuit video/EEG. RESULTS: There is clinical heterogeneity among these individuals with respect to etiology of epilepsy, age of onset, laterality, memory of adverse behaviors, and presence of psychosis. Several clinical features, including male gender, were common to all. The episodes of postictal aggression were not isolated events, but recurred repeatedly; the behaviors were uniquely stereotyped in each patient. Subacute postictal aggression was more likely after a cluster of seizures than after a single ictus. All patients had medically intractable epilepsy and were remorseful in the interictal period. CONCLUSIONS: Subacute postictal aggression, a rare phenomenon within the broad spectrum of epilepsy-related behaviors, appears to be a true clinical entity with several consistently observed manifestations.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Risk factors for burns as a consequence of seizures in persons with epilepsy.

To explore the risk factors and circumstances for burns in a population of persons with epilepsy, we surveyed 244 University of Colorado Health Sciences Center Seizure Clinic patients. Twenty-five had at least one seizure-related burn requiring medical attention (12 were hospitalized), 21 reported burns requiring medical attention not related to seizure activity, and 199 reported no burns. All patients with seizure-related burns had alteration of consciousness during most seizures. Statistical models with logistic regression indicated that a useful model for assessing risk of seizure-related burns in this population of patients could be constructed using three significant variables; lifetime total number of seizures experienced by the patient, the presence of interictal neurologic impairment, and gender. The remainder of the variables studied (percentage of seizures that occurred nocturnally, percentage of seizures preceded by a simple partial seizure (SPS) warning, self-care status, number of seizures in adult life, seizure type, patient age, age of onset of seizure disorder, and presence of burns not associated with seizure) were either not significantly correlated with seizure-related burns or did not significantly improve the success of the statistical model in light of the other variables studied. Most injuries occurred in the home during activities that might have been avoided. They included 10 burns incurred while cooking, 5 incurred while showering (with a plumbing system that permitted exposure to scalding water), and 3 caused by exposed room heaters. A subset of epileptic patients are at increased risk for burns and should minimize situations in which they can be burned.

Accident Prevention↗