Emergency department management of seizures in pediatric patients

Abstract

Seizures account for 1% of all emergency department visits for children, and the etiologies range from benign to life-threatening. The challenge for emergency clinicians is to diagnose and treat the life-threatening causes of seizures while avoiding unnecessary radiation exposure and painful procedures in patients who are unlikely to have an emergent pathology. When treating patients in status epilepticus, emergency clinicians are also faced with the challenge of choosing anticonvulsant medications that will be efficacious while minimizing harmful side effects. Unfortunately, evidence to guide the evaluation and management of children presenting with new and breakthrough seizures and status epilepticus is limited. This review summarizes available evidence and guidelines on the diagnostic evaluation of first-time, breakthrough, and simple and complex febrile seizures. Management of seizures in neonates and seizures due to toxic ingestions is also reviewed.