Biomaterial Database

Status Epilepticus, Refractory Status Epilepticus, and Super-refractory Status Epilepticus. 2018

Sarah E Nelson, and Panayiotis N Varelas

Status epilepticus, refractory status epilepticus, and super-refractory status epilepticus can be life-threatening conditions. This article presents an overview of the three conditions and discusses their management and outcomes. Status epilepticus was previously defined as lasting for 30 minutes or longer but now is more often defined as lasting 5 minutes or longer. A variety of potential causes exist for status epilepticus, refractory status epilepticus, and super-refractory status epilepticus, but all three ultimately involve changes at the cellular and molecular level. Management of patients with status epilepticus generally requires several studies, with EEG of utmost importance given the pathophysiologic changes that can occur during the course of status epilepticus. Status epilepticus is treated with benzodiazepines as first-line antiepileptic drugs, followed by phenytoin, valproic acid, or levetiracetam. If status epilepticus does not resolve, these are followed by an IV anesthetic and then alternative therapies based on limited data/evidence, such as repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation, therapeutic hypothermia, immunomodulatory agents, and the ketogenic diet. Scores have been developed to help predict the outcome of status epilepticus. Neurologic injury and outcome seem to worsen as the duration of status epilepticus increases, with outcomes generally worse in super-refractory status epilepticus compared to status epilepticus and sometimes also to refractory status epilepticus. Status epilepticus can be a life-threatening condition associated with multiple complications, including death, and can progress to refractory status epilepticus and super-refractory status epilepticus. More studies are needed to delineate the best management of these three entities.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D008279	Magnetic Resonance Imaging	Non-invasive method of demonstrating internal anatomy based on the principle that atomic nuclei in a strong magnetic field absorb pulses of radiofrequency energy and emit them as radiowaves which can be reconstructed into computerized images. The concept includes proton spin tomographic techniques.	Chemical Shift Imaging,MR Tomography,MRI Scans,MRI, Functional,Magnetic Resonance Image,Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Functional,Magnetization Transfer Contrast Imaging,NMR Imaging,NMR Tomography,Tomography, NMR,Tomography, Proton Spin,fMRI,Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging,Imaging, Chemical Shift,Proton Spin Tomography,Spin Echo Imaging,Steady-State Free Precession MRI,Tomography, MR,Zeugmatography,Chemical Shift Imagings,Echo Imaging, Spin,Echo Imagings, Spin,Functional MRI,Functional MRIs,Image, Magnetic Resonance,Imaging, Magnetic Resonance,Imaging, NMR,Imaging, Spin Echo,Imagings, Chemical Shift,Imagings, Spin Echo,MRI Scan,MRIs, Functional,Magnetic Resonance Images,Resonance Image, Magnetic,Scan, MRI,Scans, MRI,Shift Imaging, Chemical,Shift Imagings, Chemical,Spin Echo Imagings,Steady State Free Precession MRI
D008297	Male		Males
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000069279	Drug Resistant Epilepsy	Epileptic condition in which adequate trials of two tolerated and appropriately chosen and used ANTIEPILEPTIC DRUGS schedules to achieve sustained seizure freedom failed.	Drug Refractory Epilepsy,Epilepsy, Drug Refractory,Epilepsy, Drug Resistant,Epilepsy, Intractable,Intractable Epilepsy,Medication Resistant Epilepsy,Refractory Epilepsy,Drug Refractory Epilepsies,Drug Resistant Epilepsies,Epilepsies, Drug Refractory,Epilepsies, Drug Resistant,Epilepsies, Intractable,Epilepsies, Medication Resistant,Epilepsies, Refractory,Epilepsy, Medication Resistant,Epilepsy, Refractory,Intractable Epilepsies,Medication Resistant Epilepsies,Refractory Epilepsies,Refractory Epilepsies, Drug,Refractory Epilepsy, Drug,Resistant Epilepsies, Drug,Resistant Epilepsies, Medication,Resistant Epilepsy, Drug,Resistant Epilepsy, Medication
D000927	Anticonvulsants	Drugs used to prevent SEIZURES or reduce their severity.	Anticonvulsant,Anticonvulsant Drug,Anticonvulsive Agent,Anticonvulsive Drug,Antiepileptic,Antiepileptic Agent,Antiepileptic Agents,Antiepileptic Drug,Anticonvulsant Drugs,Anticonvulsive Agents,Anticonvulsive Drugs,Antiepileptic Drugs,Antiepileptics,Agent, Anticonvulsive,Agent, Antiepileptic,Agents, Anticonvulsive,Agents, Antiepileptic,Drug, Anticonvulsant,Drug, Anticonvulsive,Drug, Antiepileptic,Drugs, Anticonvulsant,Drugs, Anticonvulsive,Drugs, Antiepileptic
D013226	Status Epilepticus	A prolonged seizure or seizures repeated frequently enough to prevent recovery between episodes occurring over a period of 20-30 minutes. The most common subtype is generalized tonic-clonic status epilepticus, a potentially fatal condition associated with neuronal injury and respiratory and metabolic dysfunction. Nonconvulsive forms include petit mal status and complex partial status, which may manifest as behavioral disturbances. Simple partial status epilepticus consists of persistent motor, sensory, or autonomic seizures that do not impair cognition (see also EPILEPSIA PARTIALIS CONTINUA). Subclinical status epilepticus generally refers to seizures occurring in an unresponsive or comatose individual in the absence of overt signs of seizure activity. (From N Engl J Med 1998 Apr 2;338(14):970-6; Neurologia 1997 Dec;12 Suppl 6:25-30)	Absence Status,Complex Partial Status Epilepticus,Generalized Convulsive Status Epilepticus,Non-Convulsive Status Epilepticus,Petit Mal Status,Simple Partial Status Epilepticus,Grand Mal Status Epilepticus,Status Epilepticus, Complex Partial,Status Epilepticus, Electrographic,Status Epilepticus, Generalized,Status Epilepticus, Generalized Convulsive,Status Epilepticus, Grand Mal,Status Epilepticus, Non-Convulsive,Status Epilepticus, Simple Partial,Status Epilepticus, Subclinical,Electrographic Status Epilepticus,Generalized Status Epilepticus,Non Convulsive Status Epilepticus,Status Epilepticus, Non Convulsive,Status, Absence,Status, Petit Mal,Subclinical Status Epilepticus
D016896	Treatment Outcome	Evaluation undertaken to assess the results or consequences of management and procedures used in combating disease in order to determine the efficacy, effectiveness, safety, and practicability of these interventions in individual cases or series.	Rehabilitation Outcome,Treatment Effectiveness,Clinical Effectiveness,Clinical Efficacy,Patient-Relevant Outcome,Treatment Efficacy,Effectiveness, Clinical,Effectiveness, Treatment,Efficacy, Clinical,Efficacy, Treatment,Outcome, Patient-Relevant,Outcome, Rehabilitation,Outcome, Treatment,Outcomes, Patient-Relevant,Patient Relevant Outcome,Patient-Relevant Outcomes
D055815	Young Adult	A person between 19 and 24 years of age.	Adult, Young,Adults, Young,Young Adults
D019468	Disease Management	A broad approach to appropriate coordination of the entire disease treatment process that often involves shifting away from more expensive inpatient and acute care to areas such as preventive medicine, patient counseling and education, and outpatient care. This concept includes implications of appropriate versus inappropriate therapy on the overall cost and clinical outcome of a particular disease. (From Hosp Pharm 1995 Jul;30(7):596)	Disease Managements,Management, Disease,Managements, Disease