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Review
. 2019 Aug 7;8(8):1177.
doi: 10.3390/jcm8081177.

Prevention, Treatment, and Monitoring of Seizures in the Intensive Care Unit

Micheal Strein  1 , John P Holton-Burke  2 , LaTangela R Smith  2 , Gretchen M Brophy  3
Affiliations
Review

Prevention, Treatment, and Monitoring of Seizures in the Intensive Care Unit

Micheal Strein et al. J Clin Med. .

Abstract

The diagnosis and management of seizures in the critically ill patient can sometimes present a unique challenge for practitioners due to lack of exposure and complex patient comorbidities. The reported incidence varies between 8% and 34% of critically ill patients, with many patients often showing no overt clinical signs of seizures. Outcomes in patients with unidentified seizure activity tend to be poor, and mortality significantly increases in those who have seizure activity longer than 30 min. Prompt diagnosis and provision of medical therapy are crucial in order to attain successful seizure termination and prevent poor outcomes. In this article, we review the epidemiology and pathophysiology of seizures in the critically ill, various seizure monitoring modalities, and recommended medical therapy.

Keywords: antiepileptic therapy; critical care; electroencephalography; neurocritical care; seizures; status epilepticus.

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Conflict of interest statement

Gretchen M. Brophy is a consultant/speaker for UCB and Sage Therapeutics. Micheal Strein, John P. Holton-Burke, and Latangela R. Smith have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Seizure and status epilepticus treatment algorithm for critically ill patients [10,56,57,62,63,64,65,66,67,68].
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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