Etiological profile of epilepsia partialis continua among adults in a tertiary care hospital

Abstract

Background: Epilepsia partialis continua (EPC), is a subtype of status epilepticus, have a varied spectrum of etiology and the out-come depends on the etiology.

Aims and objectives: The present study is aimed to analyze the clinical characteristics and outcome.

Materials and methods: This is a prospective analysis of 17 patients admitted to our center between August 2010 and April 2012. EPC was defined as regular or irregular clonic muscular twitches affecting a limited part of the body, occurring for a minimum of 1 h, and recurring at intervals of no more than 10 s. The data collected included etiology, radiological findings, electroencephalogram (EEG) abnormalities, associated comorbid conditions, and outcome.

Results: The mean age at presentation was 44.26 ± 13.77 years and the mean duration was 2.7 ± 1.5 days. There were ten patients with diabetic non-ketotic hyperosmolar state and one patient each of oligodendroglioma, varicella zoster vasculitis, central nervous demyelination, ischemic stroke, post traumatic seizure, arteriovenous malformation, and in one patient no cause could be established. Imaging showed abnormality only in five patients and EEG was abnormal in four patients. The EPC was controlled by one antiepileptic drug (AED) in eight patients, with two AEDs in seven patients and two patients required three AEDs.

Conclusion: EPC is a rare type of focal motor status epilepticus. Treatment of the underlying cause in addition to controlling EPC is essential to achieve the good outcomes.