Treatment of seizures in the neurologic intensive care unit

✍ Scribed by Panayiotis N. Varelas; Marek Mirski

• Book ID: 107558924
• Publisher: Springer
• Year: 2007
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 163 KB
• Volume: 9
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1092-8480
• DOI: 10.1007/s11940-007-0039-9

✦ Synopsis

The intensive care unit (ICU) is a complex environment. Both primary neurologic as well as non-neurologic causes of seizures may occur, often in combination, leading to complex clinical evaluations to ascertain the probable etiology. Therefore, in order to avoid confusion and frustration, the neurointensivist or consulting neurologist should have an algorithmic approach to the problem. This is a vast topic. This review presents the most common etiologies of seizures encountered in the neurologic ICU (NICU), suggested treatment algorithms, and the most recent information regarding the newest antiepileptic drugs (AEDs). The interested reader can find additional information in other review articles or specialized textbooks on this subject [2•].