Prolonged confusion following convulsions due to generalized nonconvulsive status epilepticus

Abstract

Among patients with a prolonged confusional state after convulsive seizure, we diagnosed 8 cases as generalized nonconvulsive status epilepticus. Six had a history of seizures, and 2 had new onset. The convulsive seizures were generalized in 6 and focal in two. The postictal confusion lasted up to 36 hours in the most prolonged case, and a delayed response to anticonvulsant medications occurred in all cases. The clinical symptoms ranged from mild confusion to coma. Psychiatric manifestations or automatisms were rare. The presumed etiology was due to diverse causes, but a withdrawal state was the most common. EEG demonstrated continuous or nearly continuous generalized ictal discharges of variable morphology. These cases call attention to the fact that some prolonged confusional states following convulsive seizures are in fact due to persistent seizure activity that can be diagnosed by EEG.