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When would you start antiepileptic drugs in a critically ill patient who develops myoclonic jerks but has not yet had an EEG?

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Mednet Member
Mednet Member
Neurology · Stanford Health Care Stroke Center

Treatment depends on the setting in which these myoclonic jerks are seen.

In a non-cardiac arrest patient, such myoclonic jerks are often due to medications, organ dysfunction (e.g., uremia, etc), electrolyte imbalance, or non-convulsive seizures, etc, and workup for this is recommended with labs, h...

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Mednet Member
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Neurology · Cook County Health

I generally err on the side of caution by starting ASM when unclear about the etiology for myoclonic jerks, especially in the setting of cardiac arrest/concern for anoxic brain injury, especially if there are delays in obtaining an EEG. If the EEG monitoring does not reveal seizures or epileptiform ...

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