Epidemiology, management and outcome of status epilepticus in adults: single-center Italian survey

The official variations of status epilepticus (SE) International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE, 2015) diagnostic criteria and the non-convulsive SE (NCSE) Salzburg Consensus Criteria (2013), impose the collection of updated population-based epidemiological Italian data. In this study, we aimed at evaluating (a) the frequency of SE in our hospital adopting the new ILAE 2015 SE diagnostic criteria and NCSE Salzburg Consensus Criteria, (b) the frequency of adherence to current treatment guidelines for SE and their relationship with patients’ outcome, and (c) reliability of standardized prognostic scales (Status Epilepticus Severity Score—STESS—and modified STESS) for short-term outcome prediction in the setting of the newest diagnostic criteria for SE and NCSE. Detailed clinical and electrophysiological data collected in a 1-year retrospective hospital-based single-center survey on SE at Parma Hospital, Northern Italy are provided. Non-adherence to current treatment guidelines was recorded in around 50% cases, but no relation to outcome was appreciated. Mortality in our cohort increased from 30 to 50% when follow-up was extended to 30 days. STESS score was strongly correlated with short-term mortality risk (OR 18.9, 2.2–163.5, CI), and we confirm its role as easy-to-use tool for outcome evaluation also when the new ILAE diagnostic SE criteria are applied.