Frequency of Mortality in Children admitted with status Epilepticus in King Abdullah Teaching Hospital Mansehra

Abstract

Objectives: To determine the frequency of in-hospital mortality in children admitted with convulsive status epilepticus and to analyze the relation of age, gender, seizure duration and etiology with mortality.  

Methodology:  This descriptive case series was conducted at Pediatric department of King Abdullah Teaching Hospital Mansehra from 1st September 2020 to 30th October 2021 after taking ethical approval from institutional ERC (ERC approval no. 2915/PED). Total 114 children aged 1-13 years diagnosed with status epilepticus were enrolled after taking informed consent from their caregivers. Their demographic features (age, gender, address, seizure duration, etiology and response to therapy) were recorded. The children were managed as per Canadian pediatric society guidelines. The final outcome, mortality and its associations were recorded on a proforma during a maximum of 14 days hospital stay.

Results: The overall mortality was 8.77%. The most common cause of status epilepticus was idiopathic status epilepticus (28.95%), followed by encephalitis (25.44%). The mean ±SD duration of seizures was 17.10±6.77 minutes with a range of 6-28 minutes. There was no statistically significant association between mortality and age, gender, cause of status epilepticus and duration of seizures (p > 0.05).

Conclusion: Status epilepticus is frequently encountered medical emergency in pediatric population with a diverse etiopathogenesis. Despite advances in medicine, the morbidity and mortality associated with status epilepticus still remain very high.