PMID- 20594804
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20101222
LR  - 20100906
IS  - 1873-6513 (Electronic)
IS  - 0885-3924 (Linking)
VI  - 40
IP  - 3
DP  - 2010 Sep
TI  - Nonconvulsive status epilepticus in palliative care patients.
PG  - 460-5
LID - 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2010.01.019 [doi]
AB  - Altered mental status and reduced level of consciousness are common among 
      patients admitted to palliative care units. However, nonconvulsive status 
      epilepticus (NCSE) has rarely been considered as a possible cause, and 
      electroencephalographic confirmation of the epileptic status is sparse. The 
      clinical presentation of patients with NCSE varies from altered mental status to 
      coma, with no or only minimal convulsions. We report a prospective evaluation of 
      patients with altered mental status on admission to our palliative care unit in 
      the year 2007. Of 290 patients admitted in 2007, 49 patients showed signs of 
      confusion or delirium and/or a reduction in their level of consciousness. NCSE 
      was suspected clinically in 22 of these patients, and epileptic activity could be 
      confirmed in 15 (5.2%) of 290 patients. Nine of 15 patients could be effectively 
      treated with anticonvulsants and regained communication ability before death. 
      NCSE appears to be an important, often unrecognized, and potentially treatable 
      cause of altered mental status in palliative care patients. Pharmacological 
      treatment might restore communicative abilities even in severely ill patients.
CI  - 2010 U.S. Cancer Pain Relief Committee. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights 
      reserved.
FAU - Lorenzl, Stefan
AU  - Lorenzl S
AD  - Interdisciplinary Center for Palliative Medicine, Munich University Hospital, 
      Munich, Germany. Stefan.Lorenzl@med.uni-muenchen.de
FAU - Mayer, Simon
AU  - Mayer S
FAU - Feddersen, Berend
AU  - Feddersen B
FAU - Jox, Ralf
AU  - Jox R
FAU - Noachtar, Soheyl
AU  - Noachtar S
FAU - Borasio, Gian Domenico
AU  - Borasio GD
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
PT  - Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
DEP - 20100701
PL  - United States
TA  - J Pain Symptom Manage
JT  - Journal of pain and symptom management
JID - 8605836
RN  - 0 (Anticonvulsants)
SB  - IM
MH  - Adult
MH  - Aged
MH  - Aged, 80 and over
MH  - Anticonvulsants/therapeutic use
MH  - Delirium/complications/psychology
MH  - Drug Resistance
MH  - Electroencephalography
MH  - Female
MH  - Humans
MH  - Male
MH  - Middle Aged
MH  - *Palliative Care
MH  - Prospective Studies
MH  - Recovery of Function
MH  - Status Epilepticus/diagnosis/epidemiology/*psychology
MH  - Treatment Outcome
EDAT- 2010/07/03 06:00
MHDA- 2010/12/24 06:00
CRDT- 2010/07/03 06:00
PHST- 2009/06/15 00:00 [received]
PHST- 2010/01/25 00:00 [revised]
PHST- 2010/01/27 00:00 [accepted]
PHST- 2010/07/03 06:00 [entrez]
PHST- 2010/07/03 06:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2010/12/24 06:00 [medline]
AID - S0885-3924(10)00388-X [pii]
AID - 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2010.01.019 [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - J Pain Symptom Manage. 2010 Sep;40(3):460-5. doi: 
      10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2010.01.019. Epub 2010 Jul 1.