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Therapeutic burst-suppression coma in pediatric febrile refractory status epilepticus
Jainn-Jim Lin1, Cheng-Che Chou2, Shih-Yun Lan2
1Division of Pediatric Critical Care and Pediatric Neurocritical Care Center, Chang Gung Children's Hospital and Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Taoyuan, Taiwan; Graduate Institute of Clinical Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan; Division of Pediatric Neurology, Chang Gung Children's Hospital and Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Taoyuan, Taiwan; Chang Gung Children's Hospital Study Group for Children with Encephalitis/Encephalopathy Related Status Epilepticus and Epilepsy (CHEESE), Taoyuan, Taiwan.
Insights
Therapeutic burst-suppression coma for pediatric febrile refractory status epilepticus may increase hemodynamic instability and worsen outcomes. This treatment strategy
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Neurology
- Critical Care Medicine
- Epileptology
Background:
- Limited evidence exists on the efficacy and outcomes of therapeutic burst-suppression coma for pediatric febrile refractory status epilepticus.
- The clinical impact of this treatment strategy in children remains largely unknown.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the clinical outcomes of therapeutic burst-suppression coma in pediatric patients diagnosed with febrile refractory status epilepticus.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective review of pediatric patients with febrile refractory status epilepticus admitted to a pediatric intensive care unit from 2000 to 2013.
- Analysis of clinical characteristics and treatment outcomes.
Main Results:
- Thirty-five pediatric patients were included; 80% developed super-refractory status epilepticus.
- While 74.3% achieved therapeutic burst-suppression coma, 22.9% died within 1 month.
- Patients with burst-suppression coma showed increased need for hemodynamic support, a trend towards higher mortality, worse 6-month outcomes, and longer hospitalizations.
Conclusions:
- Therapeutic burst-suppression coma for febrile refractory status epilepticus may be associated with increased risk of hemodynamic instability.
- This treatment approach showed a trend towards worse patient outcomes and prolonged hospitalization.
Background:
Evidence for the beneficial effect of therapeutic burst-suppression coma in pediatric patients with febrile refractory status epilepticus is limited, and the clinical outcomes of this treatment strategy are largely unknown. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore the outcomes of therapeutic burst-suppression coma in a series of children with febrile refractory status epilepticus.
Methods:
We retrospectively reviewed consecutive pediatric patients with febrile refractory status epilepticus admitted to our pediatric intensive care unit between January 2000 and December 2013. The clinical characteristics were analyzed.
Results:
Thirty-five patients (23 boys; age range: 1-18years) were enrolled, of whom 28 (80%) developed super-refractory status epilepticus. All of the patients received the continuous administration of intravenous antiepileptic drugs for febrile refractory status epilepticus, and 26 (74.3%) achieved therapeutic burst-suppression coma. All of the patients received mechanical ventilatory support, and 26 (74.3%) received inotropic agents. Eight (22.9%) patients died within 1month. The neurologically functional outcomes at 6months were good in six (27.3%) of the 22 survivors, of whom two returned to clinical baseline. The patients with therapeutic burst-suppression coma were significantly associated with hemodynamic support than the patients with electrographic seizures control (p=0.03), and had a trend of higher 1-month mortality rate, worse 6months outcomes, and a longer duration of hospitalization.
Conclusions:
Our results suggest that therapeutic burst-suppression coma to treat febrile refractory status epilepticus may lead to an increased risk of hemodynamic instability and a trend of worse outcomes.
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