Clinical policy: Critical issues in the evaluation and management of adult patients presenting to the emergency department with seizures

Abstract

This clinical policy focuses on critical issues in the evaluation and management of adult patients with seizures. The medical literature was reviewed for articles that pertained to the critical questions posed. Subcommittee members and expert peer reviewers also supplied articles with direct bearing on this policy. This clinical policy focuses on 6 critical questions: What laboratory tests are indicated in the otherwise healthy adult patient with a new-onset seizure who has returned to a baseline normal neurologic status?Which new-onset seizure patients who have returned to a normal baseline require a head computed tomography (CT) scan in the emergency department (ED)?Which new-onset seizure patients who have returned to normal baseline need to be admitted to the hospital and/or started on an antiepileptic drug?What are effective phenytoin or fosphenytoin dosing strategies for preventing seizure recurrence in patients who present to the ED after having had a seizure with a subtherapeutic serum phenytoin level?What agent(s) should be administered to a patient in status epilepticus who continues to seize after having received benzodiazepine and phenytoin?When should electroencephalographic (EEG) testing be performed in the ED? Recommendations for patient management are provided for each 1 of these topics on the basis of strength of evidence (Level A, B, or C). Level A recommendations represent patient management principles that reflect a high degree of clinical certainty; Level B recommendations represent patient management principles that reflect moderate clinical certainty; and Level C recommendations represent other patient management strategies based on preliminary, inconclusive, or conflicting evidence, or based on consensus of the members of the Clinical Policies Committee. This clinical policy is intended for physicians working in hospital-based EDs.