title: Intensive care unit management of patients with status epilepticus.
abstract: The intensive care unit management of status epilepticus focuses on patients who are refractory to initial treatment, who have an underlying condition that require critical care management, or who experience respiratory or cardiovascular complications of their therapies. The available data suggest that failure of a first-line anticonvulsant agent to terminate status should lead to the use of a definitive therapy in general anesthetic doses. Midazolam, propofol, and phenobarbital have been used most frequently; the place of newer agents (e.g., valproate, levetiracetam, or topiramate) remains to be determined.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Evanston Northwestern Healthcare, Illinois, USA. t-bleck@northwestern.edu
authors.forename: Thomas P
authors.initials: TP
authors.lastname: Bleck
mesh_terms: D000768:Anesthesia, General / Q000379:methods; D000927:Anticonvulsants / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D004351:Drug Resistance; D006801:Humans; D007362:Intensive Care Units; D000077287:Levetiracetam; D008874:Midazolam / Q000627:therapeutic use; D010346:Patient Care Management / Q000379:methods*; D010634:Phenobarbital / Q000627:therapeutic use; D010889:Piracetam / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000627:therapeutic use; D015742:Propofol / Q000627:therapeutic use; D013226:Status Epilepticus / Q000188:drug therapy*
chemical_list: D000927:Anticonvulsants; D000077287:Levetiracetam; D008874:Midazolam; D015742:Propofol; D010634:Phenobarbital; D010889:Piracetam