STATUS EPILEPTICUS IN CEREBRAL VASCULAR DISORDERS

S-L. Lai

Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taiwan-R.O.C.

Cerebral vascular disorder is one of the most frequent causes of acute symptomatic epilepticus. The aim of this study was to investigate the prognosis of status epilepticus in cerebral vascular disorders and the comparison with the status epilepticus in other etiologies.

56 cases of status epilepticus were admitted to the neurologic intensive care unit from 1994  to 1999, including 22 male and 34 female patients. Among them, 12 cases were due to the cerebral vascular disorders, four cases with cerebral haemorrhage, 6 cases with cerebral infarction. The other two cases were due to venous infarction in one and the other with A-V malformation. They received standard valium injection followed with phenytoin. There were two case refractoy to the above regimen and they received  further phenobarbital injection. Afterall, the seizures were well controlled and there were no mortalities. The other 44 case including 15 antiepileptic drug withdraw, 10 case of CNS infection, 5 case of alcoholism and some other etiologies. The seizures were poor controlled in the group of the CNS infection.

Conclusion: Cerebral vascular disorders were common causes of status epilepticus. The seizure control in this group was no different in other etiologies and the prognosis of status epilepticus in this group is good.