New Onset Absence Status Epilepticus in Pregnancy: A Case Report

Absence status epilepticus may occur in persons diagnosed with idiopathic/genetic epilepsy as well as de novo in adult and elderly patients. Despite being a rare phenomenon, pregnant women with no previous history of epileptic seizures may be presented with new onset status epilepticus. In this report, we describe the case of a 22-year-old pregnant female with no prior history of seizures. The patient was admitted to our center with reduced spontaneous speech and perplexity. Electroencephalography showed continuous, generalized synchronous paroxysms of 3 Hz spike-wave complexes. The patient's clinical condition improved following the administration of diazepam and levetiracetam. To the best of our knowledge, we describe the first case of new onset absence status epilepticus during pregnancy.