Treatment Response in Pediatric Patients With Status Epilepticus: A Retrospective Observational Study From Saudi Arabia
Author(s)
Omar A. Almohammed, PharmD, PhD1, Aseel Alsuwayegh, PharmD2, Bader M. Alhadhrami, PharmD1, Abdulaziz A. Alqarni, PharmD1, Marwan Alrasheed, PharmD, PhD1, Sultan M. Alghadeer, PharmD1.
1King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 2King Saud University Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
1King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 2King Saud University Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
OBJECTIVES: Investigate patient characteristics, treatments used, treatment response, and factors associated with outcomes when managing SE in a pediatric population admitted to the emergency department (ED).
METHODS: This retrospective observational study included pediatric patients (age: ≤18 years) with SE admitted to the ED at King Khalid University Hospital, between 2015 and 2023. SE and refractory SE (RSE) were diagnosed according to the American Epilepsy Society (AES) definitions. The data included demographics, home medications, treatment sequences, medication dosing, and clinical outcomes. To assess appropriateness, the administered doses were compared with the AES standards for pediatric patients.
RESULTS: The study included 487 episodes of SE. The mean patient age was 6.1 ±4.1 years, and most patients were males (57.3%) with a history of epilepsy (74.1%). Benzodiazepines (BDZs) were administered first in 83.0% of cases, with a 10.9% success rate, whereas anti-seizure medications (ASMs) were administered first in 17.0% of cases, with a 66.3% success rate (p<0.0001). Surprisingly, appropriately dosed medications in the first trial were significantly less effective than underdosed medications (18.2% vs. 28.4%; p=0.0222), mainly because of the poor response to BDZs. Younger patients and those who received BDZs as the initial therapy had higher hospital admission rates.
CONCLUSIONS: ASMs were more effective than BDZs in managing pediatric patients with SE, regardless of the dosing precision. These findings point toward the adoption of personalized treatment strategies and may warrant early initiation of ASMs. National multicenter studies are needed to define a standardized pediatric SE protocol.
METHODS: This retrospective observational study included pediatric patients (age: ≤18 years) with SE admitted to the ED at King Khalid University Hospital, between 2015 and 2023. SE and refractory SE (RSE) were diagnosed according to the American Epilepsy Society (AES) definitions. The data included demographics, home medications, treatment sequences, medication dosing, and clinical outcomes. To assess appropriateness, the administered doses were compared with the AES standards for pediatric patients.
RESULTS: The study included 487 episodes of SE. The mean patient age was 6.1 ±4.1 years, and most patients were males (57.3%) with a history of epilepsy (74.1%). Benzodiazepines (BDZs) were administered first in 83.0% of cases, with a 10.9% success rate, whereas anti-seizure medications (ASMs) were administered first in 17.0% of cases, with a 66.3% success rate (p<0.0001). Surprisingly, appropriately dosed medications in the first trial were significantly less effective than underdosed medications (18.2% vs. 28.4%; p=0.0222), mainly because of the poor response to BDZs. Younger patients and those who received BDZs as the initial therapy had higher hospital admission rates.
CONCLUSIONS: ASMs were more effective than BDZs in managing pediatric patients with SE, regardless of the dosing precision. These findings point toward the adoption of personalized treatment strategies and may warrant early initiation of ASMs. National multicenter studies are needed to define a standardized pediatric SE protocol.
Conference/Value in Health Info
2025-11, ISPOR Europe 2025, Glasgow, Scotland
Value in Health, Volume 28, Issue S2
Code
CO254
Topic
Clinical Outcomes
Topic Subcategory
Clinician Reported Outcomes
Disease
Neurological Disorders, Pediatrics