Does Treatment Aggressiveness Affect the Prognosis of Refractory Status Epilepticus?
This is the question three physicians addressed in their latest study. Edward Bromfield, M.D, of Brigham & Women’s Hospital, Andrea Rossetti, M.D., of the Swiss National Science Foundation, and Giancarlo Logroscino, M.D., PhD, of the Harvard School of Public Health presented their findings at the 59 th annual meeting of the American Epilepsy Society in Washington, D.C. According to the researchers, there have been few studies closely examining the treatment of refractory status epilepticus, particularly comparisons among drugs used for coma-induction. Furthermore, the impact on outcome of EEG suppression remains unclear. “With this study our aim was to determine whether outcome in refractory status was affected by the specific drug or drug combination used, or by the depth of coma as measured by degree of EEG suppression,” said Bromfield, a member of the Epilepsy Foundation’s professional advisory board.
