Drug-induced seizures: a 10-year experience

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Clinical Toxicology

Background:

• Drug-induced seizures are a significant concern in clinical practice.
• Understanding the patterns and causes of these seizures is crucial for patient management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the clinical characteristics, common causative agents, and outcomes of drug-induced seizures.
• To investigate the factors influencing patient outcomes in drug-induced seizures.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 53 patients with drug-induced seizures over a decade.
• Categorization of seizure types (single, multiple, status epilepticus) and identification of causative drugs.
• Evaluation of patient outcomes, focusing on recovery and mortality, and associated cardiovascular complications.

Main Results:

• 45% experienced single seizures, 40% multiple convulsions, and 15% status epilepticus.
• Commonly implicated drugs included isoniazid, insulin, lidocaine, and psychotropic medications.
• Generalized seizures with focal features were frequent; simple partial seizures were rare.
• 49 patients recovered fully, but 4 died due to cardiovascular complications.

Conclusions:

• Cardiovascular toxicity of medications plays a critical role in the outcome of drug-induced seizures.
• The severity and duration of seizures were less predictive of outcome than the cardiovascular effects of the drugs involved.