Seizures in sleep: clinical spectrum, diagnostic features, and management

Dawn Eliashiv; Alon Y Avidan

doi:10.1016/j.ccc.2015.03.009

Seizures in sleep: clinical spectrum, diagnostic features, and management

Crit Care Clin. 2015 Jul;31(3):511-31. doi: 10.1016/j.ccc.2015.03.009.

Authors

Dawn Eliashiv¹, Alon Y Avidan²

Affiliations

¹ UCLA, Department of Neurology, UCLA Seizure Disorders Center, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, 710 Westwood Boulevard, Room 1-250, RNRC, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1769, USA.
² UCLA, Department of Neurology, UCLA Neurology Clinic, UCLA Sleep Disorders Center, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, 710 Westwood Boulevard, Room 1-145, RNRC, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1769, USA. Electronic address: avidan@mednet.ucla.edu.

PMID: 26118918
DOI: 10.1016/j.ccc.2015.03.009

Abstract

Sleep is disrupted in most patients hospitalized in the intensive care unit and the disturbances are even more profound in patients impacted by epilepsy. Nocturnal seizures must be differentiated from other common nocturnal events, such as delirium, parasomnias, and sedation. Many antiepileptic drugs produce undesirable side effects on sleep architecture that may further predispose patients to insomnia during the night and excessive sedation and hypersomnolence during the day. Failure to recognize, correctly diagnose, and adequately manage these disturbances may lead to more prolonged hospitalization, increased risk for nosocomial infections, poorer health-related qualify of life, and greater health care financial burden.

Keywords: Antiepileptic drugs; Epilepsy; Epilepsy syndrome; Seizures.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Anticonvulsants / adverse effects*
Anticonvulsants / therapeutic use
Diagnosis, Differential
Humans
Intensive Care Units
Parasomnias / diagnosis
Seizures / drug therapy*
Sleep / physiology*
Sleep Apnea, Obstructive / chemically induced
Sleep Wake Disorders / chemically induced*

Substances

Anticonvulsants