EMERGENCY TREATMENT OF SEIZURES IN EPILEPTIC PATIENTS

Research Published May 18 2016
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A patient in status epilepticus, an epileptic seizure which does not stop spontaneously and persisting beyond 5 minutes, should be treated as quickly as possible, otherwise the brain will be damaged.

In order to improve patient care, Pr. Vincent Navarro and several teams from the Assistance Publique have coordinated a study to test the interest of adding an immediate second antiepileptic treatment to the treatment given in emergency (benzodiazepines).

This multicenter therapeutic trial has involved in France 13 pre-hospital PARAMEDIC teams and 26 hospital teams welcoming patients in status epilepticus. Vincent Navarro and his staff’s objective is to find a way to stop even more quickly epileptic patients’ seizures.

This study has revealed the lack of statically significant difference between both treatments, but it appears as a desire to improve the diagnostic and therapeutic management of epileptic states, and in the perspective of strengthening specific care units, such as that of the Neuro-critical care unit at the Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, AP-HP.

Other studies are currently ongoing to identify, in humans and in animals, relevant biomarkers in epileptic states, in order to identify neuronal death at risk subjects.

Reference : V Navarro, et al, Levetiracetam and clonazepam in status epilepticus: A prehospital double-blind randomised trial. Lancet Neurology, 2016; 15(1):47-55.