Relevamiento de recursos disponibles para el manejo de status epiléptico en centros asistenciales en Argentina

Introduction

Status epilepticus (SE) is a neurological emergency that requires prompt diagnosis and treatment due to its high morbidity and mortality. Knowing the availability of local diagnostic and treatment resources is important for improving therapeutic outcomes through effective strategies.

Objective

To assess the resources available for the diagnosis and treatment of SE in hospitals in the Argentine Republic.

Materials and methods

The Epilepsy Working Group of the Argentine Neurological Society distributed a voluntary semi-structured survey to 51 representative centers for the care of patients with SE in July 2021. Information was requested regarding the healthcare model, pharmacological protocols for different phases of SE, and available electroencephalographic resources.

Results

Regarding the early stage of SE, we found that there is adequate availability of antiseizure medications (ASMs) in both public and private centers, with lorazepam being the most commonly chosen drug. Regarding the treatment choice for established SE, we found that phenytoin is the most commonly used in public hospitals, while levetiracetam is the preferred choice in nonpublic hospitals, and this difference is statistically significant (p < 0.0001). There was a low availability of EEG monitoring in both settings, although there was a greater availability of prolonged monitoring in private centers (p = 0.0003).

Conclusion

This study provides information about the available resources in our country for the management of SE and allows for the development of educational and management strategies to improve its diagnosis and treatment.