Review Article
An Insight into the Current Understanding of Status Epilepticus:
From Concept to Management
Khouloud Abdulrhman Al-Sofyani
Department of Pediatric, Pediatric Intensive Critical Care Unit, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
CorrespondenceshouldbeaddressedtoKhouloudAbdulrhmanAl-Sofyani;kalsofyani@kau.edu.sa
Received 31 March 2021; Revised 11 June 2021; Accepted 19 June 2021; Published 13 July 2021
AcademicEditor:MamededeCarvalho
Copyright©2021KhouloudAbdulrhmanAl-Sofyani.isisanopenaccessarticledistributedundertheCreativeCommons
AttributionLicense,whichpermitsunrestricteduse,distribution,andreproductioninanymedium,providedtheoriginalworkis
properlycited.
Status epilepticus (SE), a subset of epilepsy, represents a debilitating neurological disorder often associated with alarming
mortalityandmorbiditynumbers.EventhoughSEisoneoftheextensivelyresearchedtopicswithconspicuousdataavailablein
the literature, a scientific gap exists in understanding the heterogeneous facets of the disorder like occurrence, definition,
classification, causes, molecular mechanisms, etc., thereby providing a defined management program. Cognizance of this
heterogeneity and scientific limitation with its subsequent correlation to the recent advancements in medical and scientific
domainswouldservenotonlyinbridgingthegapbutalsoindevelopingholisticandpromptmanagementprograms.Keepingthis
asanobjective,anextensiveliteraturesurveywasperformedduringthisstudy,andkeyfindingshavebeenshared.epresent
studyprovidesasemanticandperspectivesynopsistowardacknowledgingthediversifiednatureofSEanditsvariantswithrespect
to their definition, classification, etiology, diagnosis, and management.
1. Introduction
Epilepsy is a neurological disorder marked by sudden re-
current episodes of sensory/motor disturbances, impaired
consciousness due to abnormal electrical activity in the
brain. Status epilepticus (SE) is a medical condition where
the seizures are prolonged and require urgent medical in-
tervention, resulting in long-lasting consequences and fa-
talities if left untreated or unattended. Approximately
1.3–16%ofthesubjectswhosufferfromepilepsyeventually
deteriorate to status epilepticus (SE) condition [1].
Status epilepticus is one of the most prevalent pediatric
neurologicalemergencies,onlysecondtostroke,resultingin
neurological intensive care unit (ICU) admission. Global
statistical data reveals the incidences of SE are around 50
patientsper100,000populationperyearwithamortalityrate
ofaround2.5%[2].eexactmeaningofstatusepilepticus
(SE)iscontext-specific.However,SEcanbesimplyphrasedas
prolonged seizures demanding urgent medical intervention,
which may result in higher morbidity and mortality rates if
eitherleftunattendedordelayinthecourseofaction[3].
AlthoughSEcouldhappenatanyage,itsimpactismost
pronounced in the vulnerable age groups comprising chil-
drenandolderadults[4–7].SEispredominantlyprevalent
in neonates and infants as compared to the elderly adult
population[8].IncidenceofSEinchildrenbelowoneyearof
age was found to be almost 150 per 100,000 population,
whileintheagegroup1–5years,theincidenceratesdeclined
to <25per100,000peoplebeforerisingto >50per100,000
forpeopleabove40yearsofage[5].Inanothersurvey,the
prevalence of SE in children aged <5 years was 7.5 per
100,000and22.3per100,000fortheelderlypopulation[5].
Continuous EEG surveillance is one of the significant rea-
sonsfortheobservedhigherprevalencerateofSEinchil-
dren[4,9].
Concerning the socioeconomic parameters, higher SE
prevalenceisobservedindevelopingcountriesascompared
tothedevelopedcountries.ehigherprevalenceofSEin
developingcountriesisduetoscarcityofproperhealthcare
infrastructure, sustainable management policies, compro-
misedhygienicconditions,andinadequateresources,which
isalsoreflectedinthehighermortalityindex.eavailable
Hindawi
Neurology Research International
Volume 2021, Article ID 9976754, 12 pages
https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/9976754