Seizures in patients with respiratory disease - a retrospective single center study.

Senay Aydin,Cengiz Özdemir,Meral E Kiziltan,Ayşegül Gündüz

doi:10.1590/0004-282x20190196

Senay Aydin, Cengiz Özdemir + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1590/0004-282x20190196

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Abstract

Seizures are a neurological condition commonly experienced during the follow-up period after systemic or metabolic disorders. The aim of the present study was to determine the etiological factors of seizures in patients at a tertiary care chest clinic. We reviewed all neurology consultations that were requested due to seizures in inpatient clinics in a tertiary care hospital specializing in respiratory disorders between January 2011 and January 2018 were retrospectively reviewed. The present study included 705 of 2793 (25.2%) patients who requested consultations for seizures during the study period. The mean age of the sample was 64.05±17.19 years. Of the 705 patients, 307 (43.5%) had a previous history of epilepsy (Group I) and 398 (56.5%) had a first-time seizure and were considered to have symptomatic seizures (Group II). Multiple factors played roles in the development of seizures in 54.8% of the patients. In most patients, metabolic causes, systemic infections, and drug use were identified and an intracranial metastatic mass lesion was the major cause in patients with lung cancer. Rates of hypoxemia and respiratory acidosis were significantly higher in patients with symptomatic seizures (Group II) than in patients with primary epilepsy (Group I). Blood gas changes such as hypoxemia and respiratory acidosis were among the factors statistically associated with the development of symptomatic seizures in patients with respiratory diseases. Additionally, hypoxemia, hypercapnia, and respiratory acidosis were correlated with mortality in patients hospitalized for respiratory system diseases who requested consultations for seizures.

Highlights

Patients diagnosed with seizures according to the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) guidelines were included in this study and categorized into two groups: patients with a previous diagnosis of primary epilepsy who received antiepileptic medications were included in Group I, and patients without a previous history of seizures who had an epileptic seizure for the first time during their hospital stay were considered to have symptomatic seizures and were included in Group II
This study shows that symptomatic seizures constitute the majority of epileptic seizures and blood gas exchange abnormalities play a significant role on mortality in patients with respiratory disease and epileptic seizures
We found more than one etiological factor for the development of seizure

Summary

Introduction

The presence of an intracranial mass was the most common cause of seizures in patients with lung cancer (n=160; 46.2%), but the groups did Multiple Etiology #, n (%) Of the patients who were admitted to the emergency department with first-time seizures and had an intracranial mass lesion, seven had primary lung cancer and two had pulmonary tuberculosis. The predominant etiological cause of symptomatic seizures was the metabolic changes; the most influent cause of which was decrease in mean arterial PaO2 and pH values.

Results

Conclusion