Many patients with critical illness have been noted to have nonconvulsive seizures (NCSs) and nonconvulsive status epilepticus (NCSE). How aggressively these seizures should be treated is unclear. Many investigators feel that the morbidity of NCSs and NCSE is different from that of generalized convulsive status epilepticus (GCSE), so treatment should be less urgent. Consequently, many nonsedating AEDs have been used to treat NCSs and NCSE in patients with critical illness. Randomized, controlled trials demonstrating the efficacy of AEDs in NCSs and NCSE are lacking. The Treatment of Recurrent Electrographic Nonconvulsive Seizures (TRENdS) study compared lacosamide to fosphenytoin in the treatment of NCSs. An update of the study is presented. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled "Status Epilepticus".
Keywords: Continuous EEG monitoring; Electrographic seizures; Fosphenytoin; Lacosamide; Nonconvulsive seizures.
Published by Elsevier Inc.