First line management of prolonged convulsive seizures in children and adults: good practice points

Abstract

Over the past decades, it has become clear that the most efficient way to prevent status epilepticus is to stop the seizure as fast as possible, and early treatment of prolonged convulsive seizures has become an integral part of the overall treatment strategy in epilepsy. Benzodiazepines are the first choice drugs to be used as emergency medication. This treatment in the early phases of a seizure often implies a 'pre-medical' setting before intervention of medically trained persons. In this paper, we propose "good practice points" for first line management of prolonged convulsive seizures in children and adults in a 'pre-medical' setting.