Status epilepticus (SE) is a medical emergency that requires prompt, effective medical intervention. In the United States, SE occurs in over 100,000 persons annually. Morbidity and mortality after SE are affected by the condition precipitating SE, systemic stress from repeated generalized convulsions and central nervous system injury from continuous electrical seizure activity within the brain. Despite the development of effective anticonvulsant therapies, SE continues to be a major cause of death and neurologic disability. The goals of this study are to: (1) evaluate the safety and efficacy of intravenous benzodiazepine agents (diazepam and lorazepam) when given as pre-hospital therapy to patients in status epilepticus; (2) to establish whether pre-hospital therapy of status epilepticus alters the in-hospital management of patients and ultimately has an effect on patient outcome; (3) to determine the effectiveness of the EMS system in making the diagnosis of SE in the field; and (4) to more completely characterize the out-of-hospital seizure population. The primary reason for this competing continuation application is to request funding for an additional year of enrollment in order to achieve our original target goal of 210 unique enrollments.
| Lowenstein, D H; Alldredge, B K; Allen, F et al. (2001) The prehospital treatment of status epilepticus (PHTSE) study: design and methodology. Control Clin Trials 22:290-309 |
| Gottwald, M D; Akers, L C; Liu, P K et al. (1999) Prehospital stability of diazepam and lorazepam. Am J Emerg Med 17:333-7 |
| Lowenstein, D H (1996) Recent advances related to basic mechanisms of epileptogenesis. Epilepsy Res Suppl 11:45-60 |
