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Status epilepticus is defined as a condition characterized by epileptic seizure prolonged or repeated so as to produce a lasting epileptic state. It is estimated that status epilepticus occurs in 50,000 to 60,000 individuals in the United States, with one third to one half of episodes occurring in patients with established epilepsy.
Status epilepticus represents a true medical emergency that can affect all age groups. Failure to adequately treat this problem can lead to potentially serious systemic and neurologic complications. Management strategies should include stabilization of the cardiovascular and respiratory status of the patient, use of anticonvulsants intravenously and in proper doses, search for a cause, and maintenance therapy.
Status epilepticus is a serious medical emergency requiring immediate and rational therapy. Rapid initial management is directed at stabilization of vital functions and a quick but thorough assessment of clinical and laboratory studies to determine etiologies. Initial drug management is directed at the rapid control of status with prevention of recurrence by sustaining a therapeutic level of a long acting anticonvulsant. Few patients should remain in status more than 30 minutes after initiation of therapy.
Status epilepticus, especially the convulsive type, is a medical emergency. Initial treatments include clearing the airway and giving diazepam intravenously (preferably) or rectally. Clonazepam is equally effective. A loading dose of phenytoin should be given to maintain seizure control.
Status epilepticus is a medical emergency. Recent experimental studies have shown that permanent brain damage can occur after only 60 minutes of uncontrolled seizure activity. Cardiac arrhythmias are a common cause of death. Other complications include rhabdomyolysis, acute tubular necrosis and neurogenic pulmonary edema. Management is divided into three phases: stabilization of the patient, termination of the seizures and diagnostic evaluation.
Status epilepticus (SE), both convulsive and nonconvulsive, can arise from diverse etiologies in either a normal brain or a previously epileptic brain. SE has a distinct natural history and unattended can lead to profound, life-threatening, systemic metabolic and physiologic disturbances. These factors may account for the poor prognosis associated with this disorder. However, there is mounting experimental evidence that SE itself, independent of metabolic and physiologic disturbances, leads to lasting brain dysfunction.
Status epilepticus (SE) remains one of the most serious disorders affecting the central nervous system. Recent progress in understanding the mechanisms of the brain damage produced by SE make even more apparent the need to quickly terminate this condition, prevent its recurrence, and treat its complications. Intracellular calcium concentrations rise, prompting a cascade of excitotoxic consequences. Therapy for SE currently consists of agents which stop seizures (benzodiazepines, phenytoin, barbiturates). This review discusses their use in SE.
Status epilepticus may end fatally or may leave serious sequelae. Thus the physician must act quickly and appropriately to stop convulsions using the methods described. Supportive measures--maintenance of airway, protection from harm, maintenance of vital functions--must be accomplished before drug therapy is started. Metabolic abnormalities must be corrected. Striving for levels of antiepileptic drugs in the upper therapeutic range is best, and the physician must be prepared to deal with the side-effects and complications of these medications.
Status epilepticus (SE) is a medical emergency. It requires prompt and adequate diagnosis and treatment, as it may induce CNS injury. It is mainly distinguished into generalised and partial SE on the basis of its major clinical features. There are very few data about SE physiopathology, but it is generally characterised by increasing unresponsiveness to treatment. SE diagnosis is based on EEG recording, associated with neuroimaging techniques and laboratory assays to detect underlying pathologies. During SE we distinguish three different conditions: initial, defined and refractory. Benzodiazepines represent first-line treatment, followed by phenytoin. Refractory SE requires ICU treatment to perform general anaesthesia.
Status epilepticus (SE) has an annual incidence exceeding 100,000 cases in the United States alone, of which more than 20% result in death. Thus, increased awareness of presentation, etiologies, and treatment of SE is essential in the practice of critical care medicine. This review discusses current definitions of SE, as well as its clinical presentation and classification. The recent literature on epidemiology is reviewed, including morbidity and mortality data. An overview of the systemic pathophysiologic effects of SE is presented. Finally, significant studies on the treatment of acute SE and refractory SE are reviewed, including the use of anticonvulsants, such as benzodiazepines, and other drugs.
Status epilepticus (SE) is a common pediatric emergency, which warrants prompt and aggressive treatment. This report presents a brief description and classification of SE. Therapy should be directed towards rapid termination of the SE, prevention of seizure recurrence and treatment of any underlying cause. A review of drugs commonly used in the treatment of SE is presented. The morbidity and mortality of SE is significant and directly dependant upon prompt and appropriate medical therapy. The treatment of refractory SE requires labour intensive hemodynamic support and suppression of seizures using either barbiturates or anesthetic agent. Formulation and adherence to standard treatment protocols provides the best results.
Status epilepticus (SE) can theoretically be described using a simple definition based on physiopathological mechanisms: any seizure of epileptic nature, partial or generalized, convulsive or non-convulsive, lasting over a period of more than 30 minutes; or repeated seizures lasting for a period of over 30 minutes without recovery of consciousness. In the context of a historical review of various definitions, the validity of this definition is assessed and questioned. The heterogeneous nature of this condition is evidenced in daily clinical practice and by the results of epidemiologic studies. In the present study, the authors propose a more pragmatic and heuristic classification, taking into account not only clinical but also electroencephalographic data, as well as the particular nature of the epileptic syndrome when this is known.
Status epilepticus is a serious medical emergency that requires prompt and appropriate intervention. Maintenance of adequate vital function with attention to airway, breathing, and circulation; prevention of systemic complications; and rapid termination of seizures must be coupled with investigating and treating any underlying cause. In most patients with SE, the use of adequate dosages of first-line antiepileptic agents allows for the successful and rapid termination of SE and avoidance of potential neurologic complications. Refractory SE requires more aggressive treatment, often the use of intravenous anesthetic agents and intense monitoring, and therefore must be managed in a pediatric intensive care unit with a multidisciplinary approach. Large, controlled, multicenter, comparative studies are needed urgently to clarify better the optimal management of these patients.
Status epilepticus (SE), an special epileptic syndrome, is a frequent neurological emergency (50/100,000) and a critical condition (mean mortality 22%, in 3% of pediatric patients and 38% in the elderly). Accepting its widest concept, it appears without history of epilepsy in 58%. Neuronal damage, mainly hypocampal, has been experimentally demonstrated in convulsive and nonconvulsive SE. We attempt to demonstrate that the most important prognostic factors are: age, more related to morbidity in children and in mortality in the elderly; etiology, determining the evolution in most cases, but not always: in the same etiological group, the coincidence of SE can increase threefold the mortality; the seizure type, especially the convulsive SE; patients with previous epilepsy have a better outcome; the epileptic syndrome, rather determinant of incidence and outcome of the SE in the childhood; the length of SE, but in the cases of outcome directly depending on the etiology; the evolutive phase in which treatment is started; the complications, mainly respiratory; the global therapeutical strategy and the adequate use of drugs, related to order, dosage and timing, are determinant of morbidity and mortality.
Status epilepticus (SE) is one of the most important neurological emergencies. We describe the most recent aspects concerning the definition, classification, aetiology, physiopathological and epidemiological aspects of SE, together with the therapeutic principles and pharmacotherapy in adults and adolescents. The therapeutic control of SE becomes more difficult as its duration becomes longer, and the possibility of causing permanent neurological damage also increases. Treatment is more effective when it is performed following a protocol. The benzodiazepines are still a first line of treatment. Home care treatment of patients with recurring seizures or important risk factors for developing SE could help to improve the future response to therapy and, therefore, its prognosis. Thus, several therapies involving benzodiazepines are developed which can be administered rectally, nasally and sublingually. In the future, treatment may include the use of neuroprotective drugs that reduce the morbidity and mortality of SE and prevent cell death. In spite of the progress made in understanding SE, there are still certain shortcomings that must be solved, i.e. mistakes made during diagnosis, a need for wider availability of electrographic controls, the basic physiopathological mechanisms require further research, and controlled studies with currently available antiepileptic drugs and others that have only recently appeared should be conducted in order to evaluate their therapeutic effectiveness, in both home care and hospitalised patients (refractory SE).
Status epilepticus (SE) is a common neurological and medical emergency. Despite the significant mortality associated with SE, no human data have been available regarding cardiovascular changes prior to death in patients with this condition. This study was conducted to measure hemodynamic trends in the 24 h prior to death in a series of 24 prospectively evaluated SE patients. Two distinct cardiovascular patterns of mean arterial pressure (MAP) and heart rate (HR) were observed. Ten patients had a gradual decline in MAP and/or HR, and this group was designated as having gradual cardiac decompensation (GCD). The remaining 14 patients showed no significant changes in either MAP or HR up to the time of death. This group of patients was designated as having acute cardiac decompensation (ACD). The changes in MAP and HR over the last 24 h prior to death between the GCD and ACD groups were statistically significant. Ninety percent of the GCD patients had a history of multiple risk factors for arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD), while only 30% of the ACD group had a history of multiple risk factors for ASCVD. The results provide the first human data of cardiovascular events immediately preceding death in SE patients. We propose that further investigation of the cardiovascular pathophysiology of SE may provide new therapeutic interventions which could decrease the significant mortality associated with SE.
Status epilepticus (SE) treatment should proceed on four fronts: termination of SE, prevention of recurrence, management of potential precipitating causes, and management of SE complications and underlying conditions. The intensity of the treatment should reflect the risk to the patient from SE, and drugs likely to depress respiration and blood pressure should initially be avoided. The Veterans Administration cooperative trial showed that when treating overt SE, first-line treatment success rates were: lorazepam 64.9%; phenobarbital 58.2%; diazepam/phenytoin 55.8%; and phenytoin alone 43.6%. The aggregate response rate to second-line agents for patients who did not respond to first-line agents was 7.0%, and it was 2.3% for third-line agents, raising the question of the efficacy of a second and third drug. The recommended treatment for generalized convulsive SE is to begin with lorazepam. As a second-line agent, phenytoin or fosphenytoin, is still recommended if SE control is not achieved within 5 to 7 min. Fosphenytoin achieves a free phenytoin level of about 2 micro/mL in 15 min, as opposed to 25 min with phenytoin itself. Moreover, fosphenytoin is safer and, despite higher cost, it may be cost-effective. High-dose barbiturates, high-dose benzodiazepines, and propofol are employed for major treatment for refractory SE. Patients at this stage should undergo continuous electroencephalogram monitoring. Once SE is controlled, prevention of seizure recurrence should be individualized to each patient. The major complications of generalized convulsive SE (GCSE), rhabdomyolysis and hyperthermia, should be watched for and treated.
Status epilepticus (SE) is a condition wherein epileptic seizure discharges are sufficiently prolonged or repetitive so as to produce persistent alterations in neurologic function and in the underlying physiologic and neurochemical activities of the brain. Thus, the definition of SE now includes any disorder in which there is sustained and prolonged excitation of neurons. Electroencephalographic (EEG) patterns associated with specific types of SE are important components in their classification. Like epileptic seizures, SE can be divided into partial onset SE and primarily generalized SE. Partial onset SE includes secondarily generalized convulsive SE (GCSE), complex partial SE (CPSE), simple partial SE (SPSE), and the syndromes of epilepsia partialis continua (EPC) and rolandic SE (RSE). Primarily generalized SE includes primarily GCSE, absence SE, atypical absence SE, generalized myoclonic SE, generalized clonic SE, generalized tonic SE, atonic SE, and the syndromes of electrical SE of sleep (ESES) and minor epileptic SE of Brett. SE is a dynamic disorder. Behavioral and electrical manifestations change over time if seizure activity is allowed to persist without successful treatment A progression from overt to subtle convulsive activity occurs in secondarily GCSE and there is also a progression of predictable EEG changes in prolonged GCSE. CPSE begins as discrete complex partial seizures but also progresses behaviorally and electrically through a sequence similar to that observed in GCSE. Progressive behavioral and electrical changes have not been reported in primarily generalized forms of SE. EEG is an important tool for verifying successful treatment of SE if the patient does not immediately recover neurologic function. EEG recordings also contribute substantially to understanding the mechanisms of, and development of better treatments for, human SE through their use in the study of experimental SE in the laboratory.