Epidemiology of Status Epilepticus in Kazakhstan: A 10-Year Population-Based Study

Background/Objectives: This study explored the epidemiology of Status Epilepticus (SE) in Kazakhstan. Methods: Utilizing data from the National Health System from 2014 to 2023, we investigated the age-standardized incidence rate (ASIR) of SE. The authors employed restricted mean survival time (RMST) models to evaluate how sex, older age, epilepsy, history of cerebrovascular diseases (CVD), central nervous system (CNS) infections, brain tumors, and cancer affected survival during 30 days through the fifth year following hospital admission for SE. Results: This study included 14,010 patients. The ASIR per 100,000 increased threefold, from 4.15 (95% CI: 3.85; 4.46) in 2014 to 12.12 (95% CI: 11.64; 17.59) in 2023, with a sharp increase during the COVID-19 pandemic. The 30-day and 5-year mortality were 2.10% and 8.85%, respectively. The RMST identified that all-cause mortality was driven by elderly age, brain tumors, and cancer, where the difference in survival increased from one day at baseline to over a year by the fifth year. The effects of CVD, CNS infections, and sex on survival were substantially lower. However, epilepsy was associated with a better prognosis. Conclusions: We observed an incremental increase in the SE incidence over a decade. Our findings warrant actions to resolve issues related to rescue medicines to improve SE outcomes in both country and region. It may be a priority for elderly patients and those with systemic tumors. Further research is needed to understand the role of epilepsy in SE epidemiology, with emphasis on design-related biases.