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Introduction: Capecitabine is a pre-metabolite of 5-fluorouracil and is used as a chemotherapeutic agent. Among the common side effects of capecitabine, there are gastrointestinal side effects including nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, and dermatological side effects including hand-foot syndrome and skin pigmentation change. However, neurological side effects of capecitabine are very rare. We describe herein a patient who developed neurological side effects in the form of agraphia and dysarthria on the 7th day of capecitabine treatment. Case Report: A 34-year-old male patient, who was being followed up with the diagnosis of colon cancer, presented with speech and writing disorder that developed while under capecitabine treatment. Dysarthria and agraphia were detected in his neurological examination. Diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed acute diffusion restriction in the splenium of the corpus callosum and at the level of the bilateral centrum semiovale. Brain MRI revealed symmetrical T2-weighted fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (T2-FLAIR) signal increases at the right temporoparietal medial, corpus callosum level, and bilateral white matter level. Management & Outcome: The capecitabine treatment was terminated, and methylprednisolone treatment was administered and plasmapheresis procedure was carried out. Subsequently, significant improvement was observed in the clinical findings and neuroimaging. Discussion: Capecitabine is used as an oral agent; thus, it provides ease of use. Neurological side effects associated with the use of capecitabine reportedly occur very rarely. The findings of this case demonstrated that leukoencephalopathy can be seen during the use of capecitabine, imaging results are very important in the diagnosis of leukoencephalopathy, and improvement can be achieved with the termination of the capecitabine treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Patients with seizures constitute 1%-2% of all emergency department (ED) admissions. The purpose of this study was to compare demographic and clinical characteristics and short-term mortality in patients with unprovoked first and recurrent seizures, admitted to the ED. Methods: This prospectively planned study was conducted in a university hospital ED between January and December, 2015, and included patients with unprovoked seizures. Demographic characteristics, neurological examination findings, etiological risk factors, seizure type, and frequency, electroencephalography and neuroimaging findings, hospitalization rate, duration of hospitalization, short-term mortality, and medical and family history data were recorded. Results: A total of 125 patients (62.4% male, n=78) with a mean age of 40.10±17.09 years (range, 18-86) were included in the study. The level of patients presenting due to first lifetime seizure was 23.2%. The short-term mortality rate in patients with status epilepticus (SE) was 7.69%. The most common finding at electroencephalography was interictal epileptic discharges. Conclusion: A careful evaluation of cases presenting due to first lifetime seizure and initiation of antiepileptic drug therapy in the early period will significantly reduce the risk of seizure recurrence and also prevent complications, such as SE that can even result in death. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]