title: Status Epilepticus in Adults: A Review of Diagnosis and Treatment.
abstract: Status epilepticus is a medical emergency that requires rapid diagnosis and treatment. Nonconvulsive status epilepticus is frequently underdiagnosed and therefore undertreated, which can lead to permanent neuronal damage resulting in disability or death. Despite the frequent occurrence and morbidity associated with status epilepticus, this topic has received little attention within the literature. A systematic approach to treatment should start with management of airway, breathing, and circulation, followed by administration of benzodiazepines and intravenous antiepileptic drugs, and rapid escalation of therapy to prevent morbidity and mortality. Armed with the information in this article, nurses will have a higher-level understanding of what to do when encountering a patient in status epilepticus.
authors.affiliation: Thomas Lawson is an acute care nurse practitioner in the neuroscience critical care unit at Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, Ohio.Susan Yeager is the lead acute care nurse practitioner in the neuroscience critical care unit at Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and a clinical instructor at The Ohio State University College of Nursing Columbus, Ohio. thomas.lawson@osumc.edu.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lawson
authors.affiliation: Thomas Lawson is an acute care nurse practitioner in the neuroscience critical care unit at Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, Ohio.Susan Yeager is the lead acute care nurse practitioner in the neuroscience critical care unit at Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and a clinical instructor at The Ohio State University College of Nursing Columbus, Ohio.
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yeager
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000927:Anticonvulsants / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D064648:Critical Care Nursing / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012121:Respiration, Artificial / Q000379:methods*; D013226:Status Epilepticus / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000628:therapy*
chemical_list: D000927:Anticonvulsants