Electroconvulsive therapy for catatonia in anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis: A case series.

BACKGROUND: Anti-NMDAR encephalitis is the most common cause of immune-mediated catatonia. CASE SERIES: Three females presented with neuropsychiatric symptoms and were empirically treated with first-line immunotherapy and ovarian teratoma resection for suspected autoimmune encephalitis, preceding diagnostic confirmation via NMDAR antibody positivity. They required escalating large doses of benzodiazepines for refractory malignant catatonia resulting in ICU level care. ECT treatments were initiated, and patients were gradually noted to have clinical improvement as was measured by the Bush-Francis Catatonia Rating Scale. CONCLUSIONS: Clinicians should recognize catatonia among patients with suspected anti-NMDAR encephalitis and consider the early implementation of ECT into treatment algorithms.

Factors associated with patients not proceeding with proposed resective epilepsy surgery.

BACKGROUND: This study evaluated the association between eligible patients not proceeding with resective epilepsy surgery and various demographic, disease-specific, and epilepsy-evaluation variables. METHODS: This retrospective case-control study included patients identified as candidates for resective epilepsy surgery at the Montefiore Medical Center between January 1, 2009 and June 30, 2017. Chi-squared, two-tailed, independent sample t-test, Mann-Whitney U test and logistic regression were utilized to identify variables associated with patients not proceeding with surgery. RESULTS: Among the 159 potential surgical candidates reviewed over the 8.5-year study period, only 53 ultimately proceeded with surgery (33%). Eighty-seven (55%) out of these 159 patients were identified as appropriate for resective epilepsy surgery during the study period. Thirty-four (39%) of these 87 patients did not proceed with surgery. Variables independently correlated (either positively or negatively) with the patient not proceeding with surgery were: being employed [Odds Ratio (OR) 4.2, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.12-15.73], temporal lobe lesion on MRI (OR 0.35, 95% CI 0.14-0.84), temporal lobe EEG ictal onsets (OR 0.21, 95% CI 0.07-0.62), and temporal lobe epileptogenic zone (OR 0.19, 95% CI 0.07-0.55). CONCLUSION: The novel finding in this study is the association between employment status and whether the patient had epilepsy surgery: employed patients were 4.2 times more likely to not proceed with surgery compared to unemployed patients. In addition, patients with a temporal lobe lesion on MRI, temporal lobe EEG ictal onsets, and/or a temporal epileptogenic zone were more likely to proceed with surgery. Future work will be needed to evaluate these findings prospectively, determine if they generalize to other patient populations, explore the decision whether or not to proceed with epilepsy surgery from a patient-centered perspective, and suggest strategies to reduce barriers to this underutilized treatment.

Drug Trials in Status Epilepticus: Current Evidence and Future Concepts.

Status epilepticus (SE) is a neurologic emergency with high morbidity and mortality. After many advances in the field, several unanswered questions remain for optimal treatment after the early stage of SE. This narrative review describes some of the important drug trials for SE treatment that have shaped the understanding of the treatment of SE. The authors also propose possible clinical trial designs for the later stages of SE that may allow assessment of currently available and new treatment options. Status epilepticus can be divided into four stages for treatment purposes: early, established, refractory, and superrefractory. Ongoing convulsive seizures for more than 5 minutes or nonconvulsive seizure activity for more than 10 to 30 minutes is considered early SE. Failure to control the seizure with first-line treatment (usually benzodiazepines) is defined as established SE. If SE continues despite treatment with an antiseizure medicine, it is considered refractory SE, which is usually treated with additional antiseizure medicines or intravenous anesthetic agents. Continued seizures for more than 24 hours despite use of intravenous anesthetic agents is termed superrefractory SE. Evidence-based treatment recommendations from high-quality clinical trials are available for only the early stages of SE. Among the challenges for designing a treatment trial for the later stages SE is the heterogeneity of semiology, etiology, age groups, and EEG correlates. In many instances, SE is nonconvulsive in later stages and diagnosis is possible only with EEG. EEG patterns can be challenging to interpret and only recently have consensus criteria for EEG diagnosis of SE emerged. Despite having these EEG criteria, interrater agreement in EEG interpretation can be challenging. Defining successful treatment can also be difficult. Finally, the ethics of randomizing treatment and possibly using a placebo in critically ill patients must also be considered. Despite these challenges, clinical trials can be designed that navigate these issues and provide useful answers for how best to treat SE at various stages.

Predictors of vertigo in the emergency department: The preved study.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Acute vertigo (sense of motion) can be the sole manifestation of a posterior circulation stroke, and often gets missed in the emergency department (ED). The studies for evaluation of central vertigo have focused on physical exam findings, which require expertise and may not be suitable for rapid triage by a nurse in ED or by paramedics. METHODS: This cross sectional study included retrospective chart review of patients 18 years of age and older who presented to the Adult ED with acute dizziness or vertigo during the calendar year 2017. All the patients with a diagnosis of central or peripheral vertigo were included in the final analysis. Sensitivity, specificity, Likelihood Ratio of positive result (LR (+)) and Likelihood Ratio of negative result (LR (-)) for central and peripheral vertigo were calculated for risk factors, symptoms and physical examination features. Chi-squared test and univariate logistic regression were used to evaluate statistical correlation and to calculate the prevalence odds ratio (POR). RESULTS: Two hundred and forty nine out of 505 (49.3%) patients presenting with dizziness had vertigo. Of these, 14 had central vertigo and 163 had peripheral vertigo. Statistically significant variables were: constant symptoms of vertigo (p 0.000- POR 8.7, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.3-33.1), no change in symptoms with head movement (p 0.000- POR 10.2, 95% CI 3.0-35.4), dysmetria (p 0.000- POR 56.8, 95% CI 5.8-557.1), and unsteady gait (p 0.000- POR 13.3, 95% CI 3.3-54.3). The sensitivity and specificity to detect central vertigo were 100% and 66.4% respectively if the patient had either unsteady gait, constant symptoms, or no change in symptoms with head movement, [VAIN triad (Vertigo- Ataxia, Incessant, or Non-positional)]. CONCLUSIONS: We suggest that triage with VAIN triad can be used to design prospective studies to develop a triage algorithm for the detection of central vertigo in the ED.