Status epilepticus alert reduces time to administration of second-line antiseizure medications

Mauricio F. Villamar, Aaron M. Cook, Chenlu Ke, Yan Xu, Jordan L. Clay, Katelyn S. Dolbec, Rachel Ward-Mitchell, Larry B. Goldstein, Meriem Bensalem-Owen

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

15 Scopus citations

Abstract

Background Status epilepticus (SE) is a neurologic emergency with high morbidity and mortality. Delays in SE treatment are common in clinical practice and can be associated with poorer outcomes. Our goal was to determine whether the implementation of an SE alert protocol improves time to administration of a second-line antiseizure medication (ASM) in hospitalized adults. Methods We developed and implemented an inpatient SE alert system. A quasiexperimental cohort study was performed. We analyzed all patients aged 18-85 years who were managed at the University of Kentucky Medical Center using the SE alert protocol between March 2015 and June 2017 (n = 19). Controls were the first 20 consecutive patients treated for SE over the same time period, but who were managed with usual care (i.e., without SE alert protocol). Results Time to administration of a second-line ASM was shorter with the use of the SE alert system (22.21 ± 3.44 minutes) compared to usual care (58.30 ± 6.72 minutes; p < 0.0001). Conclusion Implementation of an SE alert system led to a marked improvement in time to administration of a second-line ASM. Classification of evidence This study provides Class III evidence that for adult inpatients treated for SE, implementation of an SE alert protocol reduces time to administration of second-line ASM.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)486-491
Number of pages6
JournalNeurology: Clinical Practice
Volume8
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 1 2018

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2018 The Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. on behalf of the American Academy of Neurology.

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Clinical Neurology

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