Reevaluation of the Critically Ill Patients With Nonconvulsive Status Epilepticus by Using Salzburg Consensus Criteria.

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to assess the usefulness of the Salzburg Consensus Criteria (SCC) for determining the prognosis of critically ill patients with nonconvulsive status epilepticus (NCSE).

METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed consecutive patients with unconsciousness followed up in the intensive care unit (ICU). Three clinical neurophysiologists, one of them blinded to clinical and laboratory data, reevaluated all EEG data independently and determined NCSE according to SCC. The incidence of NCSE and ictal EEG patterns and their relationship to clinical, laboratory, neuroradiological, and prognostic findings were assessed.

RESULTS: A total of 107 consecutive patients with mean age 68.2 ± 15.3 years (57 females) were enrolled in the study. Primary neuronal injury was detected in 59 patients (55.7%). Thirty-three patients (30.8%) were diagnosed as NCSE. While authors decided to treat 33 patients (30.8%), 32 patients (29.9%) had been treated in real-life evaluation. Clinical and EEG improvement were detected in 12 patients (11.3%) in real-life treatment group showing correlation with lack of intubation and ICU stay related to postsurgical event. Rate of mortality (45.8%) was high showing association with systemic-metabolic etiology, severity of coma and presence of "plus" modifiers in the EEG.

CONCLUSION AND SIGNIFICANCE: Our findings suggest that SCC is highly compatible with clinical practice in the decision for treatment of patients with NCSE. The presence of "plus" modifiers in the EEG was found to be associated with mortality in these patients and was a significant marker for the high mortality rate.