Adult onset absence status: a report of six cases

The six cases which we report show the range of confusional states which may be seen in absence status. They also illustrate the importance of electroencephalography in the diagnosis of acute confusional states. In all cases the absence status began in adult life and in one of these it was the first manifestation of epilepsy. Two patients became schizophrenic concurrently with the onset of absence status. The preventive treatment of absence status remains problematic. In particular, clonazepam and valproic acid were ineffective in our series. The attack of absence status may respond to intravenous diazepam or oral clonazepam. In our experience, if the patient is able to take oral medication during absence status, oral clonazepam stops the status within one to two hours. This avoids the potential complications of intravenous diazepam.