Effect of thymectomy on refractory autoimmune status epilepticus

Abstract

Refractory status epilepticus (RSE) is an increasingly recognized manifestation of autoimmune encephalitis, which can occur either as a paraneoplastic or non-paraneoplastic disorder. The effect of tumor removal in paraneoplastic status epilepticus has never been explored systematically, although early tumor treatment is usually recommended. In this study, we report clinical, pathological and EEG findings of a patient who developed RSE as one of multiple paraneoplastic manifestations of thymoma and the effect of thymectomy on seizure outcome. To our knowledge, this is the first report of successful treatment of RSE with tumor removal in paraneoplastic encephalitis.

Keywords: Autoimmune epilepsy; Encephalitis; Paraneoplastic and multiple; Status epilepticus; Thymoma.