Skip to content

Seizures Module

SHARE VIA:

TopicSeizures
AuthorPeter Tormey
DurationUp to 2 hours
Equipment requiredNone

Basics (10 mins)

Main session: (2 x 15 minute) case discussions covering the key points and evidence

Advanced session: (2 x 20 minutes) case discussions covering grey areas, diagnostic dilemmas; advanced management and escalation

Quiz (10 mins)

Infographic sharing (5 mins): 5 take home learning points

We also recommend sharing a copy of your local guideline.

Unprovoked seizures are common in children with around 8% having a seizure by 15 years of age

  • Most seizures are brief, self-limiting and generally cease within 5 minutes
  • Convulsive status epilepticus is the most common paediatric neurological emergency worldwide and the 2nd most common reason for PICU admission in the UK.
  • A seizure is the clinical expression of abnormal, excessive, synchronous discharges of neurons residing primarily in the cerebral cortex

Was the seizure a primary event or secondary to something else?

Seizures can be due to an underlying epilepsy or can be acute symptomatic seizures due to:

  • Hyponatraemia
  • Hypoglycaemia
  • Hypocalcaemia
  • High fever
  • Toxin exposure
  • Intracranial bleeding
  • Meningitis

Was this really a seizure or should I consider other differentials?

Tonic clonic activity and incontinence are not specific for seizures so always consider differential diagnoses.

  • Differential diagnosis of a seizure:
    • Vasovagal syncope
    • Blue breath holding spell
    • Reflex anoxic seizure
    • Arrhythmia
    • Non-epileptic paroxysmal event

Seek out clues in the history:

A sudden fright or minor trauma followed by the child turning pale and seizing is suggestive of a reflex anoxic event secondary to a vagal reflex. Hypoxia can induce a short tonic-clonic event that looks like a generalized tonic-clonic seizure but the child will recover quickly.

A history of a temper tantrum crescendo-ing into the child holding their breath, turning blue and then seizing might make you think of a breath holding attack. Again, this child will recover quickly.

Standing in a hot, stuffy room, feeling lightheaded with some visual changes and echoey hearing sounds vasovagal. Compare this to a child who describes palpitations or is exercising before the event; this child could have had an arrhythmia.

A 7-year-old boy called Simon is brought to the ED by his parents. At approximately 7am they were awoken by noises coming from his room. They ran in and noticed that the left side of his face was jerking and he was drooling and making gurgling sounds. He wasn’t responding to them.

The movements stopped after 2 minutes. He was drowsy for a few minutes after and had difficulty talking and expressing himself for 15-20minutes after. They also noticed there was a slight drooping on one side of his mouth for 15-20 minutes.

He has now fully recovered and is bright and alert in ED with GCS 15/15 and a normal neurological exam.

What are some of the key elements of Simon’s past medical history that you must ascertain?

How would you classify his seizure? 

Are there clues in the history as to what specific seizure disorder he may have?

Would you perform any investigations at this point?

Does he need to be admitted? Does he need treatment? What follow up will you arrange?

What are some of the key elements of Simon’s past medical history that you must ascertain?

How would you classify his seizure?

Are there clues in the history as to what specific seizure disorder he may have?

Would you perform any investigations at this point?

Does he need to be admitted? Does he need treatment? What follow up will you arrange?

Emily is a 4-year-old girl brought to ED with episodes of disturbed sleep for the last 3 weeks. This is her 4th visit to ED. She was previously diagnosed with “night terrors” and reassured. Her mum is concerned because the episodes are now occurring each night, having previously been 1-2 per week.

Her mum has videos of the episodes, which she shows you. The events usually occur shortly after going asleep. In the videos Emily wakes from sleep, looks terrified and stares straight ahead. The episodes go on for 2-3minutes. She usually vomits or retches towards the end of the episode. She goes back to sleep after. She is well during the day.

What could be going on here?

What interesting details in the history might lead you towards a specific diagnosis?

What could help differentiate between epileptic and non-epileptic events in this case?

What is the prognosis for these patients?

What could be going on here?

What interesting details in the history might lead you towards a specific diagnosis?

What could help differentiate between epileptic and non-epileptic events in this case?

What is the prognosis for these patients?

Emma is a 3-year-old girl with a background of refractory epilepsy and developmental delay. Her current medications include levetiracetam, sodium valproate, clobazam and lamotrigine.

She is PEG fed but has been vomiting up her feeds for the last 2 days and mum is unsure if her medications have been staying down.

She normally has up to 20 short seizures per day at home, but this has been increasing in the last 2 days.

You get a pre-alert from the ambulance service: Emma has been having a generalised tonic clonic seizure for 15 minutes. Her mum gave her buccal midazolam at 5 minutes, but it has not had any effect.

The ambulance crew ask you can they repeat the dose of buccal midazolam?

Emma arrives in resus with the seizure ongoing. What is your management plan?

Emma has had two doses of benzodiazepines. What would be your next line agent? Who else should you be calling at this stage?

You decide to suggest 2 papers, the ConSEPT and EcLiPSE papers for your department’s next journal club and to discuss what effect they will have on your department’s practice. One issue you foresee is that a lot of the patients you see are already on maintenance levetiracetam.

Does this preclude children on maintenance levetiracetam from receiving IV levetiracetam in status epilepticus, as is the case with the use of phenytoin in patients who take it as maintenance treatment?

Emma’s seizure terminated with the second line agent and she was admitted under neurology for IV fluids and ongoing management of her seizures until she could tolerate her medications by PEG again. In this case her status epilepticus was likely due to her vomiting up her medications.

Had Emma’s seizure not stopped after the loading dose of phenytoin, what would your next steps be?

The ambulance crew ask you can they repeat the dose of buccal midazolam?

Emma arrives in resus with the seizure ongoing. What is your management plan?

Emma has had two doses of benzodiazepines. What would be your next line agent? Who else should you be calling at this stage?

Does this preclude children on maintenance levetiracetam from receiving IV levetiracetam in status epilepticus, as is the case with the use of phenytoin in patients who take it as maintenance treatment?

Had Emma’s seizure not stopped after the loading dose of phenytoin, what would your next steps be?

Caroline is a 13-year old girl who presents to ED with a first seizure. Her parents describe a generalised tonic clonic seizure that lasted 20 minutes.

She is an otherwise well girl who is doing well in school. The only concern in her past medical history is that she has been having frequent syncopal episodes for the last 12 months. She has been seen by her GP for this who reassured her that syncopal events were common on her age group and advised her to drink plenty of fluids and try and avoid triggers.

Her neurological exam is normal.

How would you proceed? 

Are there any investigations you could perform in the department to investigate the syncopal episodes she reports?

Is there any link between syncope or arrhythmogenic events and seizures?

Caroline is admitted for further cardiac investigations. She also has an EEG diagnostic for frontal lobe epilepsy which is linkced to ion channel abnormalities.

How would you proceeed?

Are there any investigations you could perform in the department to investigate the syncopal episodes she reports?

Is there any link between syncope or arrhythmogenic events and seizures?

Question 1

Answer 1

Question 2

Answer 2

Question 3

Answer 3

1. Clinical Practice Guidelines : Afebrile seizures [Internet]. [cited 2020 Apr 20]. Available from: https://www.rch.org.au/clinicalguide/guideline_index/Afebrile_seizures/

2. Lyttle MD, Rainford NEA, Gamble C, Messahel S, Humphreys A, Hickey H, et al. Levetiracetam versus phenytoin for second-line treatment of paediatric convulsive status epilepticus (EcLiPSE): a multicentre, open-label, randomised trial. Lancet. 2019 May 25;393(10186):2125–34

3. https://www.uptodate.com/contents/seizures-and-epilepsy-in-children-classification-etiology-and-clinical-features?search=seizures%20in%20children&source=search_result&selectedTitle=1~150&usage_type=default&display_rank=1

4. https://www.ilae.org/education/infographics

5. https://dontforgetthebubbles.com/first-afebrile-seizure/

6. Michael M, Tsatsou K, Ferrie CD. Panayiotopoulos syndrome: An important childhood autonomic epilepsy to be differentiated from occipital epilepsy and acute non-epileptic disorders. Vol. 32, Brain and Development. Elsevier; 2010. p. 4–9.

7. Ferrie CD, Grünewald RA. Panayiotopoulos syndrome: A common and benign childhood epilepsy. Vol. 357, Lancet. Elsevier Limited; 2001. p. 821–3.

8. Weir E, Gibbs J, Appleton R. Panayiotopoulos syndrome and benign partial epilepsy with centro-temporal spikes: A comparative incidence study. 2018 [cited 2020 May 4]; Available from https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seizure.2018.03.002

9. Mctague A, Martland T, Appleton R. Drug management for acute tonic-clonic convulsions including convulsive status epilepticus in children. Vol. 2018, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. John Wiley and Sons Ltd; 2018.

10. Dalziel SR, Borland ML, Furyk J, Bonisch M, Neutze J, Donath S, et al. Levetiracetam versus phenytoin for second-line treatment of convulsive status epilepticus in children (ConSEPT): an open-label, multicentre, randomised controlled trial. Lancet. 2019 May 25;393(10186):2135–45.

11. Sandorfi G, Clemens B, Csanadi Z. Electrical storm in the brain and in the heart: Epilepsy and Brugada syndrome. Mayo Clin Proc. 2013 Oct 1;88(10):1167–73.

12. Camacho Velásquez JL, Rivero Sanz E, Velazquez Benito A, Mauri Llerda JA. Epilepsy and Brugada syndrome. Neurol (English Ed. 2017 Jan 1;32(1):58–60.



Please download our Facilitator and Learner guides

Author

  • Peter Tormey is an Irish Paediatric Emergency Medicine trainee with a keen interest in quality improvement and medical education. In his spare time he likes to cycle, drink coffee and swim in the sea

KEEP READING

No data was found

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

1 thought on “Seizures Module”

  1. Dear Peter Tormey,
    This is totally random-I’m looking for relatives after becoming aware of paternal Tormey connection.
    Any chance you are related to Larry Tormey who would likely be 80+ yrs old, considering I am 57, now.
    Thank you,
    Julia

DFTB WORLD

EXPLORE BY TOPIC