Purpose: To analyze the nonfatal adverse events (AE) associated with a first episode of status epilepticus (SE).
Methods: We performed a population-based retrospective cohort study to determine the morbidity of SE. Participants included 184 residents of Rochester, Minnesota who experienced nonfebrile SE between 1965 and 1984.
Results: The etiology of SE was acute symptomatic in 100 patients and unprovoked in 84 patients. The most common seizure-types were continuous partial (n=56, 30%), generalized convulsive (n=52, 28%), and generalized with focal features (n=32, 17%). Morbidity related to SE was noted in 5 of the 146 patients (3.4%) surviving 30 days. The AE included hemiparesis (n=3), encephalopathy (n=2), mental retardation (n=1), and aphasia (n=1). All patients with morbidity had an acute symptomatic (n=4) or remote symptomatic (n=1) etiology. Thirty-four patients (18.5%) had a second episode of SE.
Conclusions: Based on this retrospective study, significant morbidity related to SE is uncommon and is associated with the underlying etiology.