Outcome Of Status Epilepticus In Children Research Articles

Immediate outcome and risk factors determining the outcome of status epilepticus in children attending tertiary care centre

Background: Status epilepticus (SE) is a paediatric and neurological medical emergency, continuous seizure lasting more than 30 min, or two or more seizures without full recovery of consciousness between any of them. Determination of immediate outcome of SE in children in a tertiary care hospital and to identify the risk factors influencing the outcome was the objectives of the present study.Methods: A study was conducted in Dept of Pediatrics, Tirunelveli Medical College Hospital among the children from 1 month to12 years of age, who had admitted for SE in hospital’s pediatric causality from October 2009 to October 2010 were selected for the study.Results: Out of 92 patients, total 87 patients completed the study and out of those 74 have recovered and 13 have died. The risk factors significantly affecting the outcome were hypoxia at the time of arrival, decompensated shock, respiratory failure requiring intubation and acidosis.Conclusions: Proper prehospital therapy, early referral, proper care while transporting, anticipitating risk factors involved, and protocol based approach uniformly at all hospital can reduce the mortality due to status epilepticus in children.

Convulsive status epilepticus in children.

Status epilepticus (SE) occurs most commonly in infancy and childhood. Children with prior neurological abnormalities are most susceptible. More than 90% of cases are convulsive and the majority are generalized. SE may occur in the setting of an acute illness, in patients with established epilepsy or as a first unprovoked seizure. The etiology can be classified as idiopathic, remote symptomatic, febrile, acute symptomatic, or associated with a progressive encephalopathy. The morbidity and mortality of status have dramatically declined in recent years. Overall mortality in recent pediatric series was 3-10%, with almost all fatalities associated with acute central nervous system insults or progressive neurologic disorders. Neurological sequelae in children with idiopathic or febrile status are rare. Neurologically normal children with SE as their first unprovoked seizure have the same risk of experiencing subsequent seizures of any type as children who present with a brief first seizure. The risk of recurrent episodes of convulsive SE approaches 50% in neurologically abnormal children but is very low in neurologically normal children. The favorable outcome of SE in children may be related to advances in therapy and to the resistance of the immature brain to damage from seizures.