Intravenous Levetiracetam as first-line treatment of status epilepticus in the elderly.
Acta Neurol Scand
; 121(6): 418-21, 2010 Jun.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-20578996
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Status epilepticus is a condition of prolonged/repetitive seizures that often occurs in the elderly. Treatment in the elderly can be complicated by serious side effects associated with traditional drugs.OBJECTIVE:
The aim of this pilot study was to evaluate the short-term efficacy/safety of intravenously administered LEV (IVLEV) as the treatment of choice for SE in the elderly.METHODS:
We enrolled nine elderly patients (five female/four male; median age 78 years) with SE. Two patients had a previous diagnosis of epilepsy; in the remaining seven, SE was symptomatic. SE was convulsive in five and non-convulsive in four. All the patients presented concomitant medical conditions (arrhythmias/respiratory distress/hepatic diseases). As the traditional therapy for SE was considered unsafe, IVLEV was used as first-line therapy (loading dose of 1500 mg/100 ml/15 min, mean maintenance daily dose of 2500 mg/24 h) administered during video-EEG monitoring. RESULTS/CONCLUSIONS:
In all the patients but one, IVLEV was effective in the treatment of SE and determined either the disappearance of (7/8), or significant reduction in (1/8), epileptic activity; no patient relapsed in the subsequent 24 h. No adverse events or changes in the ECG/laboratory parameters were observed. These data suggest that IVLEV may be an effective/safe treatment for SE in the elderly.
Texto completo:
1
Banco de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Piracetam
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Estado Epiléptico
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Geriatría
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Anticonvulsivantes
Límite:
Aged
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Aged80
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Female
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Humans
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Male
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Acta Neurol Scand
Año:
2010
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Italia