Code blue: Seizures

Abstract

Eyewitnesses frequently perceive seizures as life threatening. If an event occurs on the hospital premises, a “code blue” can be called which consumes considerable resources. The purpose of this study was to determine the frequency and characteristics of code blue calls for seizures and seizure mimickers. A retrospective review of a code blue log from 2001 through 2008 identified 50 seizure-like events, representing 5.3% of all codes. Twenty-eight (54%) occurred in inpatients; the other 22 (44%) events involved visitors or employees on the hospital premises. Eighty-six percent of the events were epileptic seizures. Seizure mimickers, particularly psychogenic nonepileptic seizures, were more common in the nonhospitalized group. Only five (17.9%) inpatients had a known diagnosis of epilepsy, compared with 17 (77.3%) of the nonhospitalized patients. This retrospective survey provides insights into how code blues are called on hospitalized versus nonhospitalized patients for seizure-like events.