In patients in the ICU who are on the inter-ictal continuum, how do you decide whether or not to treat for potential non-convulsive status epilepticus?
In patients undergoing continuous EEG monitoring in the ICU, we often encounter EEG patterns that lie along the inter-ictal continuum (IIC). In such cases, how do we decide if the IIC is non-convulsive status epilepticus versus not. In scenarios where we treat such patterns with AEDs for presumed NCSE, and there is no improvement in the patient's clinical status or EEG, how long should we continue treatment with AEDs?
Answer from: at Academic Institution
In those situations, you will have to take into account the whole clinical picture - what the etiology is (are we dealing with a structural injury and those periodic patterns may not resolve, and in those situations, your goal is not resolution of the EEG); if the concern is for an autoimmune etiolo...
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