Clinical Features And Prognostic Factors For Status Epilepticus In The Pediatric Emergency Department: A Retrospective Study

Background: Uncontrolled status epilepticus (SE) causes damage to all organs, especially the brain. Although there are guidelines regarding the management of convulsive SE, the timing for administering first-line rescue medications (RMeds) remains unclear. Therefore, we analyzed patients with persistent SE lasting for >30 min, who visited the pediatric emergency department (pED), to determine clinical features and risk factors and provide directions for management on arrival to the pED. Methods: This study was conducted by retrospectively reviewing medical charts of patients aged 0–19 years diagnosed with SE and accompanying motor seizures, who visited the pED between January 2010 and December 2019. After arrival at the pED, patients were divided into two groups, namely ≥30 min (n = 12) and <30 min (n = 13), according to the additional seizure time and administration of the first dose of RMeds before and after 5 min. Results: Seizures lasting for <30 min were mainly belonged to idiopathic SE in the pED. Among four SE patients who needed intensive care unit (ICU) management, three had delayed administration of RMeds of >5 min, which was statistically significant; hence, more hospitalizations in the ICU were observed when RMed administration was delayed (p = 0.047). In acute symptomatic SE such as encephalitis, more than three doses of RMeds were needed to control seizures. Conclusions: Patients with convulsive SE should arrive at the pED as soon as possible and immediately receive RMeds after arrival at the pED for good outcomes.