Search

• Nearly 10 % of patients with glioblastoma suffered from status epilepticus in this retrospective, single-centre analysis. • SE occurrence was linked to postoperative seizures and drug-resistant epilepsy. • Despite the dismal oncological prognosis of glioblastoma, SE was successfully treated in almost 80 % of the cases in our study. • Higher STESS and CCI scores were independently associated with adverse outcome. Epilepsy is a common comorbidity in patients with glioblastoma, however, clinical data on status epilepticus (SE) in these patients is sparse. We aimed to investigate the risk factors associated with the occurrence and adverse outcomes of SE in glioblastoma patients. We retrospectively analysed electronic medical records of patients with de-novo glioblastoma treated at our institution between 01/2006 and 01/2020 and collected data on patient, tumour, and SE characteristics. In the final cohort, 292/520 (56.2 %) patients developed seizures, with 48 (9.4 % of the entire cohort and 16.4 % of patients with epilepsy, PWE) experiencing SE at some point during the course of their disease. SE was the first symptom of the tumour in 6 cases (1.2 %) and the first manifestation of epilepsy in 18 PWE (6.2 %). Most SE episodes occurred postoperatively (n = 37, 77.1 %). SE occurrence in PWE was associated with postoperative seizures and drug-resistant epilepsy. Adverse outcome (in-house mortality or admission to palliative care, 10/48 patients, 20.8 %), was independently associated with higher status epilepticus severity score (STESS) and Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI), but not tumour progression. 32/48 SE patients (66.7 %) were successfully treated with first- and second-line agents, while escalation to third-line agents was successful in 6 (12.5 %) cases. Our data suggests a link between the occurrence of SE, postoperative seizures, and drug-resistant epilepsy. Despite the dismal oncological prognosis, SE was successfully treated in 79.2 % of the cases. Higher STESS and CCI were associated with adverse SE outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To evaluate psychosocial long-term outcome in patients diagnosed with psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES) and to predict outcome of PNES, economic status, and quality of life (QoL) at follow-up.Methods: Patients diagnosed with PNES in the video-EEG-monitoring unit at our Epilepsy center between 2002-2016 were contacted by phone 1-16 years after communicating the diagnosis. Patients underwent a structured interview asking for current PNES status, psychosocial situation (economic status, marital status, setting of living, driving), depression, and QoL.Results: Of 70 PNES patients without comorbid epilepsy (age: 41.1 ± 13.5 years; 74 % female, follow-up: 5.2 ± 4.2 years), 23 patients (33 %) reported to be free of PNES during the last 12 months. Patients with cessation of PNES were younger at PNES onset (p < .01) and diagnosis (p < .01) and had a higher education (p < .05). At follow-up, the proportion of economically active patients only increased in individuals with cessation of PNES (p < .001) while an increased number of patients with persisting PNES relied on governmental support (p < .001). Cessation of PNES was associated with better mood (p < .01) and QoL (p < .001). In multiple regression models, cessation of PNES was only predicted by younger age at onset, while good economic outcome was determined by younger age and good economic status at diagnosis and cessation of PNES at follow-up. Good QoL at follow-up was predicted by low depressive symptoms, freedom of PNES, and economic activity at follow-up.Conclusion: Long-term outcome in patients with PNES remains to be poor and the majority of patients continue to have PNES. Cessation of PNES was associated with good economic outcome, mood, and QoL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: New antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) are increasingly applied in second-line therapy of status epilepticus (SE). In our study, we analyzed the impact of the choice of second-line AEDs on the course and prognosis of SE.Methods: This retrospective single- center study used data of an 8 year cohort of SE in adults from 2007 to 2014. Based on the year of market introduction with a cutoff at 1990, we classified AEDs as traditional or new. Prescription pattern associated differences in prognosis were measured through univariate and multivariable analysis of 3 endpoints: occurrence of refractory SE (RSE), functional outcome in survivors to discharge (good: mRS at discharge <3 or identical to admission mRS; otherwise poor), and in-hospital mortality.Results: From 362 SE episodes during the study period, 222 episodes were included into the study, among those 150 episodes treated with new and 72 with traditional AEDs. Use of new AEDs increased during the study period. After adjustment for confounders, treatment with new AEDs was on the one hand associated with higher rate of RSE occurrence (OR 1.95, 95 % CI 1.05-3.62, p = 0.03), but, on the other hand, also with better functional outcome at discharge (OR 2.64, 95 % CI 1.16-6.00, p = 0.02), while it was not an independent predictor of in- hospital mortality (OR 0.88, 95 % CI 0.33-2.33, p = 0.80).Conclusion: Our observation that new AEDs may be associated with a higher rate of RSE development and relatively better functional outcome when adjusted for the premorbid mRS needs confirmation in prospective studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose Several scoring tools have been developed for the prognostication of outcome after status epilepticus (SE). In this study, we compared the performances of STESS (Status Epilepticus Severity Score), mSTESS (modified STESS), EMSE-EAL (Epidemiology-based Mortality Score in Status Epilepticus- Etiology, Age, Level of Consciousness) and END-IT (Encephalitis-NCSE-Diazepam resistance-Image abnormalities-Tracheal intubation) in predicting in-hospital mortality after SE. Method Data collected retrospectively from a cohort of 287 patients with SE were used to calculate STESS, mSTESS, EMSE-EAL, and END-IT scores. The differences between the scores’ performances were determined by means of area under the ROC curve (AUC) comparisons and McNemar testing. Results The in-hospital mortality rate was 11.8%. The AUC of STESS (0.628; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.529–0.727) was similar to that of mSTESS (0.620; 95% CI, 0.510–0.731), EMSE-EAL (0.556; 95% CI, 0.446–0.665), and END-IT (0.659; 95% CI, 0.550–0.768; p > .05 for each comparison) in predicting in-hospital mortality. STESS with a cutoff of 3 was found to have lowest specificity and number of correctly classified episodes. EMSE-EAL with a cutoff at 40 had highest specificity and showed a trend towards more correctly classified episodes while sensitivity tended to be low. END-IT with a cutoff of 3 had the most balanced sensitivity-specificity ratio. Conclusions EMSE-EAL is as easy to calculate as STESS and tended towards higher diagnostic accuracy. Adding information on premorbid functional status to STESS did not enhance outcome prediction. END-IT was not superior to other scores in prediction of in-hospital mortality despite including information of diagnostic work-up and response to initial treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Several scoring tools have been developed for the prognostication of outcome after status epilepticus (SE). In this study, we compared the performances of STESS (Status Epilepticus Severity Score), mSTESS (modified STESS), EMSE-EAL (Epidemiology-based Mortality Score in Status Epilepticus- Etiology, Age, Level of Consciousness) and END-IT (Encephalitis-NCSE-Diazepam resistance-Image abnormalities-Tracheal intubation) in predicting in-hospital mortality after SE.Method: Data collected retrospectively from a cohort of 287 patients with SE were used to calculate STESS, mSTESS, EMSE-EAL, and END-IT scores. The differences between the scores' performances were determined by means of area under the ROC curve (AUC) comparisons and McNemar testing.Results: The in-hospital mortality rate was 11.8%. The AUC of STESS (0.628; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.529-0.727) was similar to that of mSTESS (0.620; 95% CI, 0.510-0.731), EMSE-EAL (0.556; 95% CI, 0.446-0.665), and END-IT (0.659; 95% CI, 0.550-0.768; p > .05 for each comparison) in predicting in-hospital mortality. STESS with a cutoff of 3 was found to have lowest specificity and number of correctly classified episodes. EMSE-EAL with a cutoff at 40 had highest specificity and showed a trend towards more correctly classified episodes while sensitivity tended to be low. END-IT with a cutoff of 3 had the most balanced sensitivity-specificity ratio.Conclusions: EMSE-EAL is as easy to calculate as STESS and tended towards higher diagnostic accuracy. Adding information on premorbid functional status to STESS did not enhance outcome prediction. END-IT was not superior to other scores in prediction of in-hospital mortality despite including information of diagnostic work-up and response to initial treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Super-refractory status epilepticus (SRSE) represents a challenging medical condition with high morbidity and mortality. In this study, we aimed to establish variables related to SRSE development and outcome.Methods: We retrospectively screened our databases for refractory SE (RSE) and SRSE episodes between January 2001 and January 2015. Baseline demographics, SE characteristics, and variables reflecting the clinical course were compared in order to identify factors independently associated with SRSE occurrence. Within the SRSE cohort, predictors of in-hospital mortality as well as good functional outcome in survivors to discharge were established through univariate and multivariable analyses.Results: A total of 131 episodes were included, among those 46 (35.1%) meeting the criteria of SRSE. Comparison of RSE and SRSE episodes revealed a lower premorbid mRS score (odds ratio (OR) per mRS point, 0.769; p=0.039) and non-convulsive SE (NCSE) in coma (OR, 4.216; p=0.008) as independent predictors of SRSE. SRSE in-hospital mortality was associated with age (OR, 1.091 per increasing year; p=0.020) and worse premorbid functional status (OR, 1.938 per mRS point; p=0.044). Good functional outcome in survivors was independently related to shorter SRSE duration (OR, 0.714 per day; p=0.038).Conclusion: Better premorbid functional status and NCSE in coma as worst seizure type indicate a role of acute underlying etiologies in the development of SRSE. In-hospital mortality in SRSE is determined by nonmodifiable factors, while functional outcome in survivors depends on seizure duration underscoring the need of achieving rapid seizure termination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Purpose: The influence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) on functional outcome in intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is scarcely investigated and reported findings are conflicting mostly because of nonaccounting for imbalances. Aim of the present study was to determine the impact of CKD on functional long-term outcome in ICH-patients.Methods: In this observational cohort study of spontaneous ICH-patients admitted to our Department of Neurology between 2006 and 2015 we investigated retrospectively as primary outcome the dichotomized functional status (modified-Rankin-Scale = 0-3-versus-4-6) at 12 months according to renal function (CKD versus non-CKD), including categorial estimates of the glomerular filtration rate subanalyses. Confounding was addressed by propensity-score(ps)-matching and adjusted multivariable regression analyses.Results: We identified 1076 eligible ICH-patients, of which 131 (12.2%) suffered from CKD on hospital admission. Confounders associated with CKD consisted of hypertension (P = .023), Diabetes mellitus (P = .001), prior ischemic stroke and/or transitory ischemic attack (TIA) (P = .021), congestive heart failure (P < .01), impaired liver function (P < .01), antiplatelet therapy (P = .01), poorer premorbid functional status (P < .01), and deep ICH-location (P = .006). After balancing for confounding, patients with CKD showed a significantly decreased rate of favorable functional outcome at 12 months (CKD:29 of 111(26.1%)-versus-non-CKD:78 of 206 (37.9%); P = .035). Subanalyses showed that stages of CKD were evenly associated with mortality at 12 months (GFR category G3a, OR:2.811; CI (1.130-6.994); P = .026; GFR category G3b, OR:1.874; CI (.694-5.058); P = .215; GFR category G4, OR:10.316; CI (1.976-53.856); P = .006; GFR category G5, OR:8.989; CI (1.900-42.518); P = .006).Conclusions: As compared to ICH-patients without CKD, those with CKD show increased rates of mortality and worse functional outcomes even after statistical correction for imbalanced baseline characteritsics. This finding is presumably linked to comorbidity and warrants further investigation in prospective studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]