Abstracts

RATIONALE: Status Epilepticus (SE) is a serious medical condition associated with high mortality. This study examines the occurence of cardiovascular disease in SE. METHODS: Information was prospectively gathered on SE patients in the Richmond, Virginia area. The ICD-9 coding system was used to categorize up to 4 concomitant illnesses per SE case. A total of 950 cases were available for analysis. RESULTS: Of the 950 cases, 665 (70%) were adults and 285 (30%) were children. Cardiovascular disease was seen in 165 (17%) of all cases, and anoxia caused by cardiorespiratory arrest occurred in 104 cases (11%). Of the 665 adult SE cases, 145 (22%) had cardiovascular disease and 88 (13%) had anoxia. Of the 285 pediatric cases, 20 (7%) had cardiovascular disease and 16 (5.6%) had anoxia. The most common concomitant cardiovascular diseases seen were as follows: 35 (3.7%) cases with hypertension, 34 (3.6%) with hypotension, 27 (2.8%) with unspecified dysrhythmias, 19 (2%) with heart failure, 12 (1.3%) with atrial fibrillation, and 11 (1.2%) with acute myocardial infarction. Overall SE mortality was approximately 30% for adults and 6% for children, and there was a significant increase in mortality for SE cases with cardiovascular disease, with 43.5% for adults and 40% for children (p<0.001). Mortality was 68% for adult anoxia cases and 44% for pediatric anoxia cases, also significantly higher than mortality for cases without anoxia (p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Cardiovascular disease is commonly seen in SE. Compared with overall SE mortality, these cases had a significantly higher mortality rate in all age groups, especially children, with pediatric mortality approaching adult mortality. The results suggest that identification of cardiovascular conditions in SE is important in predicting outcome and in developing new treatment for SE.