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Seizures and Status Epilepticus

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Abstract

Seizures are defined as sudden abnormal electrical activity involving cortical, subcortical, and thalamic neuronal networks, which may cause a change in mental status and possible convulsive motor activity. They are categorized as generalized or focal, convulsive (involving rhythmic muscle contraction and relaxation) or nonconvulsive, provoked or unprovoked and based on duration. They are common, with 11% of the population having a seizure at some point in life and resulting in 1 million ED visits annually (Pallin IJEM 2008). The terminology used to categorize seizures is not standardized. In this chapter, status epilepticus (SE) refers to generalized convulsions lasting greater than 5 minutes or repeated seizures without a return to baseline cognitive state. Refractory SE (RSE) refers to generalized convulsions that do not resolve after administration of two or more antiepileptic drugs (AEDs). Nonconvulsive SE (NCSE) refers to seizure activity in the absence of motor findings, usually confirmed by electroencephalogram (EEG).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. New York-Presbyterian Hospital Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA

    Kabir Rezvankhoo

  2. MedStar Washington Hospital Center, Washington, DC, USA

    Munish Goyal

Authors
  1. Kabir Rezvankhoo
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  2. Munish Goyal
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Correspondence to Kabir Rezvankhoo .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. College of Medicine, University of Florida Health Science Center, Jacksonville, FL, USA

    Joseph R. Shiber

  2. Resuscitation & Emergency Critical Care, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA

    Scott D. Weingart

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Rezvankhoo, K., Goyal, M. (2020). Seizures and Status Epilepticus. In: Shiber, J., Weingart, S. (eds) Emergency Department Critical Care. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-28794-8_22

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-28794-8_22

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-28792-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-28794-8

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