[Status epilepticus: Recent advances]

Abstract

About half of status epilepticus (SE) occur in patients without epilepsy. An EEG has to be performed quickly in any patient who remains unconscious after the end of convulsions with the aim to detect a subtle status. An EEG should be performed as soon as possible in case of suspicion of non-convulsive status epilepticus, or in case of a confusional state whose origin remains unknown. The realization of a cerebral imaging is very often necessary in case of inaugural SE, as soon as the patient's condition allow it. It is also often indicated in case of known epilepsy. The main differential diagnosis of convulsive SE is psychogenic non-epileptic status. In non-convulsive status epilepticus, the use of anesthetic agents should be considered only rarely, as the risks of such an approach are often greater than the expected benefits.