Etiology of a short-term mortality in the group of 750 patients with 920 episodes of status epilepticus within a period of 10 years (1988-1997).
OBJECTIVE
To determine the etiology of short-term mortality in patients with status epilepticus (SE).


METHODS
920 episodes of SE were recorded among 750 patients in a 10-year period. According to the clinical assessment, sequence of events that led to death in a particular case showed two major causes of death: (1) underlying disease, and (2) complications caused by convulsions, therapy or coma.


RESULTS
Among 920 episodes of SE, 120 (13%) patients passed away. 79 patients (65.8%) died due to the underlying disease and 27 patients (22.5%) died of the combination caused by complications of underlying disease, convulsions, therapy, and/or coma. Among remaining 14 patients (11.7%), underlying disease was not the cause of death. Those 14 patients suffered complications caused by convulsions, therapy, and coma which caused death in four; therapy and coma in three; therapy in three; coma in two; and convulsions and coma in two patients, in the order already mentioned.


CONCLUSIONS
Among approximately 9 out of 10 patients with SE, death was the result of underlying disease. Although with very few patients, additional factors could provoke fatal complications of SE. In case of 1 among 10 patients complications caused by coma, therapy, and/or convulsions were the immediate cause of death. In case of such patients timely and adequate treatment could prevent death.
Sokic
D V
DV
Institute of Neurology CCS, Dr Subotica 6 Street, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia. dsokic@sezampro.yu
Jankovic
S M
SM
Vojvodic
N M
NM
Ristic
A J
AJ
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D002423:Cause of Death; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D013226:Status Epilepticus / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000401:mortality*; D055815:Young Adult