Oral topiramate as an add-on treatment for refractory status epilepticus

Abstract

Oral anti-epileptic drugs (AED) represent possible add-on options in refractory status epilepticus (SE). We report our experience in using topiramate (TPM) to treat SE unresponsive to sequential trials of multiple agents. Over 57 months, we identified 11 SE patients treated with TPM in our hospital, all of them suffered from SE refractory to at least two treatments, and six had generalized SE. Nine patients were managed in the ICU and required intubation. We found a definite electro-clinical response in 2/11 patients, already evident after 12-96 h after TPM introduction, and a possible response in 2/11 patients (concomitantly with other AEDs); 7/11 did not respond. Partial-complex SE appeared to better respond than generalized-convulsive SE. One patient developed a severe nephrolithiasis. As compared to previous small series describing only patients responding to TPM, this unselected observation underscores the difficulty of treating refractory SE, regardless of the agent.