Three epileptic patients suffering from periods of frequent complex partial seizures and diagnostic criteria for epileptic status.

Presented here are three epileptic patients suffering from periods of frequent complex partial seizures. The importance of the following two points for the diagnosis of epileptic status of complex partial seizure is stressed. The first is the importance of EEG examination for differentiation of such epileptic status from psychogenic attack and absence status. The second is the importance of disturbed consciousness lasting between seizures. Based on EEG and clinical findings in our three patients, it was concluded that two of the three patients suffered from epileptic status of complex partial seizure and that the condition in the remaining one patient could not be judged as epileptic status of complex partial seizure. Detailed clinical and electroencephalographic findings in previously reported seven patients suffering from status epilepticus of complex partial seizure were compared with those of our two patients. The seven cases out of nine patients had epileptiform EEG activities beginning with localized rhythmic activities. All of the nine patients showed marked motor manifestations during the complex partial seizure such as adversive movement and automatic behaviors. Such motor manifestations of complex partial seizure are very useful for confirming the initiation and termination of the seizure. When the frequency of complex partial seizure is markedly increased, it become difficult to detect the initiation and termination of each seizure, and the discontinuous form of status epilepticus of complex partial seizure passes into its continuous form.