title: Incidence and mortality of super-refractory status epilepticus in adults.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Super-refractory status epilepticus (SRSE) is defined as status epilepticus (SE) that continues or recurs 24h or more after the onset of anesthetic therapy. We defined the incidence and outcome of SRSE in adults in Finland.
  
  
  METHODS
  We analyzed retrospectively the Finnish Intensive Care Consortium database in order to identify adult patients with SRSE treated in ICUs in Finland during a three-year period (2010-2012). The database consists of admissions to all 20 Finnish hospitals treating refractory SE (RSE) with general anesthesia in the intensive care unit (ICU). We included consecutive adult (16 years or older) patients with RSE and identified those who had SRSE. Patients with postanoxic etiologies were excluded.
  
  
  RESULTS
  All five university hospitals and 10/15 of the central hospitals participated. The adult referral population of the study hospitals is 3.9 million, representing 91% of the total adult population of Finland. We identified 395 patients with ICU-treated RSE, 87 (22%) of whom were classified as having SRSE. This corresponds to an annual incidence of SRSE of 0.7/100,000 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.6-0.9). The one-year mortality rates were 36% (95% CI: 26-46%) for patients with SRSE and 22% (95% CI: 17-27%) for patients with RSE. Mortality was highest (63%) in patients with SRSE aged over 75 years.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Approximately 20% of patients with RSE treated in Finnish ICUs progressed to having SRSE. The incidence of SRSE, 0.7/100,000, is about 5-10% of the incidence of SE. The mortality of patients with SRSE, 36%, was comparable to earlier studies and twofold higher than the mortality of patients with RSE. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled "Status Epilepticus".
authors.affiliation: Neurocenter, Kuopio University Hospital, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland. Electronic address: anne-mari.kantanen@kuh.fi.
authors.forename: Anne-Mari
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Kantanen
authors.affiliation: Intensive Care Unit, North Karelia Central Hospital, Joensuu, Finland.
authors.forename: Matti
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Reinikainen
authors.affiliation: Intensive Care Unit, Kuopio University Hospital, Kuopio, Finland.
authors.forename: Ilkka
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Parviainen
authors.affiliation: Intensive Care Unit, Kuopio University Hospital, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland.
authors.forename: Esko
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ruokonen
authors.affiliation: Division of Intensive Care, Tampere University Hospital, Tampere, Finland.
authors.forename: Marika
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ala-Peijari
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Tom
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Bäcklund
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, Division of Intensive Care, Oulu University Hospital, Oulu, Finland.
authors.forename: Juha
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Koskenkari
authors.affiliation: Department of Perioperative Services, Intensive Care and Pain Medicine, Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland.
authors.forename: Ruut
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Laitio
authors.affiliation: Epilepsy Center/Neurocenter, Kuopio University Hospital, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland.
authors.forename: Reetta
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kälviäinen
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016208:Databases, Factual / Q000639:trends; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007362:Intensive Care Units / Q000639:trends; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009026:Mortality / Q000639:trends; D011159:Population Surveillance / Q000379:methods; D012008:Recurrence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013226:Status Epilepticus / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000401:mortality* / Q000628:therapy; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: ICU; Incidence; Mortality; Status epilepticus; Superrefractory