STATUS EPILEPTICUS

Course overview

STATUS EPILEPTICUS IS A NEUROLOGICAL EMERGENCY REQUIRING IMMEDIATE EVALUATION AND MANAGEMENT TO PREVENT SIGNIFICANT MORBIDITY OR MORTALITY. PREVIOUSLY, STATUS EPILEPTICUS WAS DEFINED AS A SEIZURE WITH A DURATION EQUAL TO OR GREATER THAN 30 MINUTES, OR A SERIES OF SEIZURES IN WHICH THE PATIENT DOES NOT REGAIN NORMAL MENTAL STATUS BETWEEN SEIZURES. THE NEUROCRITICAL CARE SOCIETY GUIDELINES FROM 2012 REVISED THE DEFINITION TO A SEIZURE WITH 5 MINUTES OR MORE OF CONTINUOUS CLINICAL AND/OR ELECTROGRAPHIC SEIZURE ACTIVITY, OR RECURRENT SEIZURE ACTIVITY WITHOUT RECOVERY BETWEEN SEIZURES. THIS ACTIVITY REVIEWS THE EVALUATION AND MANAGEMENT OF STATUS EPILEPTICUS AND HIGHLIGHTS THE ROLE OF THE INTERPROFESSIONAL TEAM IN THE CARE OF AFFECTED PATIENTS.