The diagnosis of epilepsy is incorrect in up to 20% of cases so should be revisited if attacks are not responding to treatment. We present a case of long QT syndrome that remained undiagnosed in the epilepsy clinic for 15 years until a near-fatal arrhythmia revealed the diagnosis and allowed effective treatment of her attacks. We hope this near miss raises awareness of long QT syndrome as a potentially fatal, rare but treatable condition that neurologists must consider in people with a label of refractory epilepsy. We provide practical pointers to increase the chance of early diagnosis and explore the impact of a late diagnosis for the patient and her family.
IntroductionSeizures represent 3% of all emergency department attendances.MethodsA list of all possible seizure mimics was generated from ED computerized triage systems from 1/1/12 to 31/12/13. Data was extracted manually from review of ED notes and analyzed.Results905 seizure attendances by 636 patients were examined over 2 years. 340 men and 296 women accounted for them, with average age 33±28 years. 245 patients had a history of epilepsy and were taking at least one AED. >2 AEDs were used by 32 patients. 22 had known Non-Epileptic Attacks (NEAD). Convulsive seizures occurred in 429 and Status Epilepticus in 13. The mode for the number of convulsive events in ED was 2 for NEAD patients and 1 for others. Lactate and neutrophils in NEAD were 1.3±0.3 mM and 4.4±1.2×10^9/L respectively. In other patients with convulsive seizures, they were 3.2 ±3.2 mM (median 2.1) and 6.6±3.1×10^9/L (median 6.1). 73 had neuroimaging acutely. Few patients with NEAD were admitted. 1/3 of convulsive seizures were admitted.ConclusionThis retrospective service audit indicates the burden of epilepsy attendance in a busy hospital. There is a potential role for more acute neurology input to prevent unnecessary admissions, and a pathway for non-epileptic attack sufferers.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.