Epilepsy and Seizure
Epilepsy and Seizure
Epilepsy and Seizure
1. The answer is B
2. The answer is c
3. The answer is c. (Victor, p 335.) This is a common presentation for primary generalized
epilepsy of childhood. An electroencephalogram showing the classic 3-Hz spike-and-
wave pattern would confirm this diagnosis. Brain MRI and CT are useful for evaluating
brain anatomy. Anatomic problems can cause seizures, but these tests will not tell
anything about brain electrical activity. Lumbar puncture is useful for measuring
cerebrospinal fluid pressure and looking for central nervous system inflammation or
infection. Central nervous system inflammation or infection may cause seizures. Nerve
conduction study is useful to evaluate peripheral nerve injuries such as nerve entrapment.
4. The answer is c. (Bradley, pp 1760–1761.) Until recently, the most popular
benzodiazepine for use in status epilepticus was diazepam (Valium), which has a rapid
onset of action but is cleared relatively quickly. Because of this property, patients needed
additional medications, such as phenytoin, to protect them from recurrent seizure activity
as early as 20 min after diazepam injection. A longer-acting benzodiazepine, lorazepam
(Ativan), has the advantage of being rapid-acting like diazepam but being cleared more
slowly from the body
5. The answer is e. ( Bradley, p 1761.) Rapid infusion of phenytoin may produce a
conduction block or other basis for cardiac arrhythmia. Phenytoin should not be
administered at rates greater than 50 mg/min in adults or 1 mg/(kg_min) in children to
reduce the chances of this reaction occurring. Thus, it usually requires approximately 20
min to administer a 1000- to 1500-mg standard loading dose of phenytoin in an emergent
setting such as status epilepticus. Fosphenytoin, a water-soluble prodrug of phenytoin that
has recently become available, has the advantage of causing fewer infusion site reactions.
It can be given at doses of up to 150 mg/min in an adult, with risks of cardiac
dysrhythmia similar to those of phenytoin. Another advantage of fosphenytoin is that it
can be administered intramuscularly when intravenous access is problematic.
Carbamazepine is not administered intravenously at all. Rapid infusion of phenobarbital
may produce hypotension or respiratory arrest, but is much less likely to depress cardiac
activity. Diazepam and clonazepam are safer than phenobarbital, but rapid infusion of
excessively high doses may depress blood pressure and other autonomic functions.
6. The answer is b. (Bradley, p 1758.) Lennox-Gastaut syndrome is a disturbance seen in
children. It is often difficult to control the seizures that develop in children with this
combination of retardation and slow spike-and-wave discharges on EEG. Many affected
children have a history of infantile spasms (West syndrome). Infants and children with
infantile spasms exhibit paroxysmal flexions of the body, waist, or neck and usually have
a profoundly disorganized EEG pattern called hypsarrhythmia.
7. The answer is d. (Victor, p 338.) Many patients with complex partial seizures have a
preseizure phenomenon (the aura) that alerts them to an impending seizure. This patient’s
aura includes an olfactory hallucination, which is usually associated with lesions of the
mesial temporal lobe, particularly the uncus or parahippocampal gyrus. Diseases that can
affect that region include tumors, trauma, and mesial temporal sclerosis.
8. The answer is a. (Patten, p 25.) The most common complication of temporal lobectomy
is a visual field defect due to interruption of fibers from the optic tracts passing over the
temporal horn of the lateral ventricles. Superior quadrantanopsia is more common than
hemianopsia. Some deficits may improve if the injury does not completely damage the
nerves. Language deficits, particularly dysnomia, occur less frequently. Hemiparesis is
uncommon (<2%), because the surgery is performed at a distance from the motor fibers
of the corticospinal tract. Other neurological problems that can occur include diplopia
due to extraocular nerve deficits, and facial paresis.