An epileptic young man admitted for uncontrolled seizures told me that his brain was like his wife – unpredictable, dramatic & left him confused (post-ictal state) 🤣. While I got a good chuckle from the joke, I marveled at how a good sport he was about his ordeal. Every now & then I have to attend to a rapid response called for a patient seizing or thought to be seizing. Like discussed before, whether a seizure is true or a pseudoseizure could be determined from the eyes. Besides positioning the patient on their side and getting IV Lorazepam ordered, having a quick formula to recall common causes to take next steps can be useful.
I use the word “SEIZURE” to remember and quickly recall go over common causes of seizures:
S – Sugar Low (Check bedside glucose), Side-effects of Meds
E – Electrolyte issues (Low Sodium, High Calcium)
I – Intracranial causes (Stroke, Bleed, Meningitis, brain mass, aneurysms & lesions)
Z – ZZZ (sleep issues)
U – Uremia (Renal Failure from dehydration & other causes )
R – Recreational Drugs (Alcohol, Meth etc. including Withdrawal)
R – Resp Failure (Hypoxia, CO2 Narcosis, Carbon Monoxide poisoning)
E – Epilepsy (breakthrough seizure, non-compliance to meds)
Don’t miss future fun posts! Subscribe via email 📩 | |
