title: Clinical significance of recurrent psychogenic nonepileptic seizure status.
abstract: To explore the clinical significance of a history of recurrent psychogenic nonepileptic seizure status (PNES-status), this study describes the frequency of PNES-status in 85 consecutive PNES patients and examines whether there are relevant differences between patients with a history of recurrent PNES-status and other PNES-patients. PNES patients were also compared with 64 patients with epilepsy. Data were extracted from hospital records and a postal questionnaire (Dimensional Assessment of Personality Pathology-Basic Questionnaire; Screening for Somatoform Symptoms; Dissociative Experience Scale). Of the PNES-patients, 77.6% reported at least one seizure > 30 minutes (PNES-status), 27 % admission to intensive care with status. 38.8% reported recurrent hospital admissions with status (PNES-status group), the remaining patients served as PNES-controls. The only clinical difference between the two PNES groups was that status patients were younger than PNES-controls (mean age 20.3 vs. 30.3 years, p = 0.001). Our results suggest that PNES status is common and often unrecognised. There were no substantial psychometric differences between patients with recurrent PNES-status and other PNES patients although both PNES-groups had more abnormal somatisation, dissociation and personality scores than patients with epilepsy.
authors.affiliation: Academic Unit of Neurology, Division of Genomic Medicine, University of Sheffield L-Floor, Royal Hallamshire Hospital, Glossop Road, S10 2JF, Sheffield, UK. mreuber@doctors.org.uk
authors.forename: Markus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Reuber
authors.forename: Ralf
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pukrop
authors.forename: Alex J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Mitchell
authors.forename: Jürgen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bauer
authors.forename: Christian E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Elger
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004827:Epilepsy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011602:Psychophysiologic Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D012008:Recurrence; D012640:Seizures / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*