Epilepsy & behavior : E&B
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Epilepsy & behavior : E&B · Aug 2015
Observational StudyElectrographic status epilepticus and neurobehavioral outcomes in critically ill children.
Electrographic seizures (ESs) and electrographic status epilepticus (ESE) are common in children with acute neurologic conditions in pediatric intensive care units (PICUs), and ESE is associated with worse functional and quality-of-life outcomes. As an exploratory study, we aimed to determine if ESE was associated with worse outcomes using more detailed neurobehavioral measures. ⋯ Among previously neurodevelopmentally normal children with acute neurologic disorders, ESs and ESE were associated with worse adaptive behavior and trends toward worse behavioral-emotional and executive function problems. This was a small exploratory study, and the impact of ESs and ESE on these neurobehavioral measures may be clarified by subsequent larger studies. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled "Status Epilepticus".
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Epilepsy & behavior : E&B · Aug 2015
Incidence and mortality of super-refractory status epilepticus in adults.
Super-refractory status epilepticus (SRSE) is defined as status epilepticus (SE) that continues or recurs 24h or more after the onset of anesthetic therapy. We defined the incidence and outcome of SRSE in adults in Finland. ⋯ Approximately 20% of patients with RSE treated in Finnish ICUs progressed to having SRSE. The incidence of SRSE, 0.7/100,000, is about 5-10% of the incidence of SE. The mortality of patients with SRSE, 36%, was comparable to earlier studies and twofold higher than the mortality of patients with RSE. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled "Status Epilepticus".
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Epilepsy & behavior : E&B · Aug 2015
Ictal and interictal EEG patterns in patients with nonconvulsive and subtle convulsive status epilepticus.
Electroencephalography findings in nonconvulsive or subtle convulsive status epilepticus (NCSE and SCSE, respectively) can be heterogenous. We aimed to study the different patterns on EEG in our cohort of patients. ⋯ The ictal and interictal EEG patterns in NCSE and SCSE can be varied. Further study to look for etiologic and clinical correlates of each pattern could add to its clinical value. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled "Status Epilepticus".
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Epilepsy & behavior : E&B · Aug 2015
Duration of focal complex, secondarily generalized tonic-clonic, and primarily generalized tonic-clonic seizures--A video-EEG analysis.
Identifying seizures with prolonged duration during video-electroencephalographic (EEG) monitoring is of importance to inform clinicians when to start emergency treatment of seizures to prevent status epilepticus. The aims of this study were to assess the clinical and EEG seizure duration (SD) in consecutive patients with epilepsy who underwent prolonged video-EEG monitoring and to identify a seizure type-dependent time point to start emergency treatment based on the likelihood that seizures will not stop spontaneously. Furthermore, we sought to determine predictors of SD and explored the relationship between antiepileptic drug (AED) serum levels and SD. ⋯ Based on the results of this study, we propose 2 min of convulsive seizure activity (irrespective of focal or generalized onset) as a prolonged seizure, which could serve as a time point to consider treatment to prevent status epilepticus. In focal complex seizures, we suggest an upper limit of 7 min, and in focal simple seizures 11 min, as definition of prolonged seizures. History of status epilepticus, temporal seizure onset, and lesional MRI findings are factors associated with significantly longer SD. Negative correlations of carbamazepine, levetiracetam, oxcarbazepine, and valproic acid serum levels and SD suggest a prolonging effect on seizures during withdrawal of these AEDs during video-EEG monitoring sessions. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled "Status Epilepticus".
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Epilepsy & behavior : E&B · Aug 2015
Clinical outcome of generalized periodic epileptiform discharges on first EEG in patients with hypoxic encephalopathy postcardiac arrest.
The EEG, alongside clinical examination, imaging studies, and SSEPs, is used to determine the prognosis following hypoxic encephalopathy postcardiac arrest. Generalized periodic epileptiform discharges (GPEDs) are recognized as a "malignant" EEG pattern associated with very poor outcome with previous studies reporting no or few survivors. We looked at our database of cardiac arrest patients who subsequently developed GPEDs to determine clinical outcome and profile any survivors. ⋯ Generalized periodic epileptiform discharges carry a grave clinical prognosis following cardiac arrest. This study did identify a higher number of survivors compared to previous studies, but most were severely disabled at hospital discharge. Reactivity of the first EEG might predict better prognosis and merit further evaluation. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled "Status Epilepticus".