Management of breakthrough seizures in the emergency department: continuity of patient care.
Curr Med Res Opin
; 23(7): 1583-92, 2007 Jul.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-17559751
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Epilepsy is a chronic disorder requiring long-term management. Communication between emergency physicians, neurologists, and primary care physicians (PCPs) is especially critical for the continuity of care for patients who present in an emergency department (ED) with a breakthrough seizure. Therefore, maximizing communication between the emergency physician and the PCP is of the utmost importance. The emergency physician, who is on the front line, must gather the information necessary to identify the underlying cause of the seizure and decide whether the pharmaceutical management must be changed. SCOPE This paper provides a clinical commentary on issues to consider when managing breakthrough seizures in the ED, to inform and facilitate communication between emergency physicians, consulting neurologists, and PCPs.CONCLUSIONS:
Clinical management decisions, especially when considering adjustment in an antiepileptic drug (AED) regimen, are often best made in coordination with a consulting neurologist. Increasing emergency physicians' comfort level regarding the use of newer-generation AEDs can improve the dialogue between the emergency physician and neurologist and the dialogue with the patient. Understanding the risks and benefits of the newer AEDs will assist the emergency physician in clinical decision making and, it is hoped, improve clinical outcomes. To preserve continuity of patient care, a patient's treating physician should be notified of all the particulars of the ED visit, and an appointment should be scheduled at the time of discharge for follow-up evaluation.
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Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Grupo de Atención al Paciente
/
Guías de Práctica Clínica como Asunto
/
Continuidad de la Atención al Paciente
/
Comunicación Interdisciplinaria
/
Servicio de Urgencia en Hospital
/
Epilepsia
/
Anticonvulsivantes
Tipo de estudio:
Guideline
/
Prognostic_studies
Límite:
Humans
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Curr Med Res Opin
Año:
2007
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Estados Unidos