AN ASSESSMENT OF NONCONVULSIVE SEIZURES IN THE INTENSIVE-CARE UNIT USING CONTINUOUS EEG MONITORING - AN INVESTIGATION OF VARIABLES ASSOCIATED WITH MORTALITY

Of 49 patients with nonconvulsive seizures studied with continuous EEG monitoring, the overall mortality was 33% (16/49). Of the 23 patients with nonconvulsive status epilepticus (NCSE), 13 died (mortality 57%) . Individual variables significantly associated with mortality were ag e, presence of NCSE, seizure duration, hospital and NICU length of sta y, and delay to diagnosis and etiology (acute illness versus remote sy mptomatic). With multivariate logistic regression, only seizure durati on (p = 0.0057, OR = 1.13/hour) and delay to diagnosis (p = 0.0351, OR = 1.039/hour) were associated with increased mortality. Acute symptom atic cases could not be adequately classified as either absence, simpl e, or complex partial status epilepticus when the impairment of consci ousness arose from the initial illness. Current classifications of sta tus epilepticus are inadequate for such cases.