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3.4.2 - Seizures and Status Epilepticus

from Section 3.4 - Neurological Impairment and Injury

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 July 2023

Ned Gilbert-Kawai
Affiliation:
The Royal Liverpool Hospital
Debashish Dutta
Affiliation:
Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust, Harlow
Carl Waldmann
Affiliation:
Royal Berkshire Hospital, Reading
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Summary

Key Learning Points

  1. 1. Over a lifetime, many people will suffer seizures, but only a small proportion of these develop into epilepsy.

  2. 2. Acute symptomatic seizures may be classified into those with a primary cerebral cause and those of a secondary cause, e.g. drug intoxication or hypoglycaemia.

  3. 3. If seizures are prolonged, they may become resistant to pharmacological control and mortality is high. Early termination of seizures is thus a priority.

  4. 4. A stepwise approach to seizure management is recommended until electrographic seizures are stopped.

  5. 5. Critical care treatment and monitoring should be started in conjunction with initial therapy. It should then be continued until therapy is considered successful or futile.

Type
Chapter
Information
Intensive Care Medicine
The Essential Guide
, pp. 181 - 184
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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References

References and Further Reading

Betjemann, JP, Lowenstein, DH. Status epilepticus in adults. Lancet Neurol 2015;14:615–24.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brophy, GM, Bell, R, Claassen, J, et al. Guidelines for the evaluation and management of status epilepticus. Neurocrit Care 2012;17:323.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Claassen, J, Goldstein, JN. Emergency neurological life support: status epilepticus. Neurocrit Care 2017;27(Suppl 1):S152–8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kapur, J, Elm, J, Chamberlain, JM, et al. Randomized trial of three anticonvulsant medications for status epilepticus. N Engl J Med 2019;381:2103–13.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. 2004. Appendix F: Protocols for treating convulsive status epilepticus in adults and children. www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg137/chapter/appendix-f-protocols-for-treating-convulsive-status-epilepticus-in-adults-and-children-adults#treating-convulsive-status-epilepticus-in-adults-published-in-2004Google Scholar
Scheffer, IE, Berkovic, S, Capovilla, G, et al. ILAE classification of the epilepsies: position paper of the ILAE Commission for classification and terminology. Epilepsia 2017;58:512–21.Google Scholar

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