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Hawkes MA, Eliliwi M, Wijdicks EFM. The Origin of the Burst-Suppression Paradigm in Treatment of Status Epilepticus. Neurocrit Care 2024; 40:849-854. [PMID: 37921932 DOI: 10.1007/s12028-023-01877-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2023] [Accepted: 09/26/2023] [Indexed: 11/05/2023]
Abstract
After electroencephalography (EEG) was introduced in hospitals, early literature recognized burst-suppression pattern (BSP) as a distinctive EEG pattern characterized by intermittent high-power oscillations alternating with isoelectric periods in coma and epileptic encephalopathies of childhood or the pattern could be induced by general anesthesia and hypothermia. The term was introduced by Swank and Watson in 1949 but was initially described by Derbyshire et al. in 1936 in their study about the anesthetic effects of tribromoethanol. Once the EEG/BSP pattern emerged in the literature as therapeutic goal in refractory status epilepticus, researchers began exploring whether the depth of EEG suppression correlated with improved seizure control and clinical outcomes. We can conclude that, from a historical perspective, the evidence to suppress the brain to a BSP when treating status epilepticus is inconclusive.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maximiliano A Hawkes
- Department of Neurological Sciences, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USA
| | - Mouhanned Eliliwi
- Division of Pulmonary Critical Care, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USA
| | - Eelco F M Wijdicks
- Department of Neurology, Mayo Clinic, 200 First Street SW, Rochester, MN, 55905, USA.
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Fisch U, Jünger AL, Baumann SM, Semmlack S, De Marchis GM, Hunziker S, Rüegg S, Marsch S, Sutter R. Association Between Induced Burst Suppression and Clinical Outcomes in Patients With Refractory Status Epilepticus: A 9-Year Cohort Study. Neurology 2023; 100:e1955-e1966. [PMID: 36889924 PMCID: PMC10186226 DOI: 10.1212/wnl.0000000000207129] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2022] [Accepted: 01/17/2023] [Indexed: 03/10/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES To investigate the frequency of induced EEG burst suppression pattern during continuous IV anesthesia (IVAD) and associated outcomes in adult patients treated for refractory status epilepticus (RSE). METHODS Patients with RSE treated with anesthetics at a Swiss academic care center from 2011 to 2019 were included. Clinical data and semiquantitative EEG analyses were assessed. Burst suppression was categorized as incomplete burst suppression (with ≥20% and <50% suppression proportion) or complete burst suppression (with ≥50% suppression proportion). The frequency of induced burst suppression and association of burst suppression with outcomes (persistent seizure termination, in-hospital survival, and return to premorbid neurologic function) were the endpoints. RESULTS We identified 147 patients with RSE treated with IVAD. Among 102 patients without cerebral anoxia, incomplete burst suppression was achieved in 14 (14%) with a median of 23 hours (interquartile range [IQR] 1-29) and complete burst suppression was achieved in 21 (21%) with a median of 51 hours (IQR 16-104). Age, Charlson comorbidity index, RSE with motor symptoms, the Status Epilepticus Severity Score and arterial hypotension requiring vasopressors were identified as potential confounders in univariable comparisons between patients with and without any burst suppression. Multivariable analyses revealed no associations between any burst suppression and the predefined endpoints. However, among 45 patients with cerebral anoxia, induced burst suppression was associated with persistent seizure termination (72% without vs 29% with burst suppression, p = 0.004) and survival (50% vs 14% p = 0.005). DISCUSSION In adult patients with RSE treated with IVAD, burst suppression with ≥50% suppression proportion was achieved in every fifth patient and not associated with persistent seizure termination, in-hospital survival, or return to premorbid neurologic function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Urs Fisch
- From the Department of Neurology (U.F., G.M.D.M., S.R., R.S.), and Clinic for Intensive Care Medicine (A.L.J., S.M.B., S.S., S.H., S.M., R.S.), University Hospital Basel; Medical Faculty of the University of Basel (G.M.D.M., S.H., S.R., S.M., R.S.); and Medical Communication and Psychosomatic Medicine (S.H.), University Hospital Basel, Switzerland
| | - Anja L Jünger
- From the Department of Neurology (U.F., G.M.D.M., S.R., R.S.), and Clinic for Intensive Care Medicine (A.L.J., S.M.B., S.S., S.H., S.M., R.S.), University Hospital Basel; Medical Faculty of the University of Basel (G.M.D.M., S.H., S.R., S.M., R.S.); and Medical Communication and Psychosomatic Medicine (S.H.), University Hospital Basel, Switzerland
| | - Sira M Baumann
- From the Department of Neurology (U.F., G.M.D.M., S.R., R.S.), and Clinic for Intensive Care Medicine (A.L.J., S.M.B., S.S., S.H., S.M., R.S.), University Hospital Basel; Medical Faculty of the University of Basel (G.M.D.M., S.H., S.R., S.M., R.S.); and Medical Communication and Psychosomatic Medicine (S.H.), University Hospital Basel, Switzerland
| | - Saskia Semmlack
- From the Department of Neurology (U.F., G.M.D.M., S.R., R.S.), and Clinic for Intensive Care Medicine (A.L.J., S.M.B., S.S., S.H., S.M., R.S.), University Hospital Basel; Medical Faculty of the University of Basel (G.M.D.M., S.H., S.R., S.M., R.S.); and Medical Communication and Psychosomatic Medicine (S.H.), University Hospital Basel, Switzerland
| | - Gian Marco De Marchis
- From the Department of Neurology (U.F., G.M.D.M., S.R., R.S.), and Clinic for Intensive Care Medicine (A.L.J., S.M.B., S.S., S.H., S.M., R.S.), University Hospital Basel; Medical Faculty of the University of Basel (G.M.D.M., S.H., S.R., S.M., R.S.); and Medical Communication and Psychosomatic Medicine (S.H.), University Hospital Basel, Switzerland
| | - Sabina Hunziker
- From the Department of Neurology (U.F., G.M.D.M., S.R., R.S.), and Clinic for Intensive Care Medicine (A.L.J., S.M.B., S.S., S.H., S.M., R.S.), University Hospital Basel; Medical Faculty of the University of Basel (G.M.D.M., S.H., S.R., S.M., R.S.); and Medical Communication and Psychosomatic Medicine (S.H.), University Hospital Basel, Switzerland
| | - Stephan Rüegg
- From the Department of Neurology (U.F., G.M.D.M., S.R., R.S.), and Clinic for Intensive Care Medicine (A.L.J., S.M.B., S.S., S.H., S.M., R.S.), University Hospital Basel; Medical Faculty of the University of Basel (G.M.D.M., S.H., S.R., S.M., R.S.); and Medical Communication and Psychosomatic Medicine (S.H.), University Hospital Basel, Switzerland
| | - Stephan Marsch
- From the Department of Neurology (U.F., G.M.D.M., S.R., R.S.), and Clinic for Intensive Care Medicine (A.L.J., S.M.B., S.S., S.H., S.M., R.S.), University Hospital Basel; Medical Faculty of the University of Basel (G.M.D.M., S.H., S.R., S.M., R.S.); and Medical Communication and Psychosomatic Medicine (S.H.), University Hospital Basel, Switzerland
| | - Raoul Sutter
- From the Department of Neurology (U.F., G.M.D.M., S.R., R.S.), and Clinic for Intensive Care Medicine (A.L.J., S.M.B., S.S., S.H., S.M., R.S.), University Hospital Basel; Medical Faculty of the University of Basel (G.M.D.M., S.H., S.R., S.M., R.S.); and Medical Communication and Psychosomatic Medicine (S.H.), University Hospital Basel, Switzerland.
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Sutter R, Jünger AL, Baumann SM, Grzonka P, De Stefano P, Fisch U. Balancing the risks and benefits of anesthetics in status epilepticus. Epilepsy Behav 2023; 138:109027. [PMID: 36496337 DOI: 10.1016/j.yebeh.2022.109027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2022] [Revised: 11/23/2022] [Accepted: 11/23/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE According to international guidelines, status epilepticus refractory to first- and second-line antiseizure medication should be treated with anesthetics. Therefore, continuously delivered intravenous midazolam, propofol, or barbiturates are recommended as third-line therapy. While electroencephalographically (EEG)-controlled titration of anesthetics to seizure termination or to the emergence of an EEG burst-suppression pattern makes sense, evidence of the efficacy and tolerability of such third-line treatment is limited and concerns regarding the risks of anesthesia remain. The lack of treatment alternatives and persistent international discord reflecting contradictory results from some studies leave clinicians on their own when deciding to escalate treatment. In this conference-accompanying narrative review, we highlight the challenges of EEG-monitored third-line treatment and discuss recent studies that examined earlier administration of anesthetics. RESULTS Based on the literature, maintaining continuous burst suppression is difficult despite the constant administration of anesthetics, and the evidence for burst suppression as an adequate surrogate target is limited by methodological shortcomings as acknowledged by international guidelines. In our Swiss cohort including 102 patients with refractory status epilepticus, burst suppression as defined by the American Clinical Neurophysiology Society's Critical Care EEG Terminology 2021 was established in only 21%. Besides case reports suggesting that rapid but short-termed anesthesia can be sufficient to permanently stop seizures, a study including 205 patients revealed that anesthesia as second-line treatment was associated with a shorter median duration of status epilepticus (0.5 versus 12.5 days, p < 0.001), median ICU (2 versus 5.5 days, p < 0.001) and hospital stay (8 versus 17 days, p < 0.001) with equal rates of complications when compared to anesthesia as third-line treatment. CONCLUSIONS Recent investigations have led to important findings and new insights regarding the use of anesthetics in refractory status epilepticus. However, numerous methodological limitations and remaining questions need to be considered when it comes to the translation into clinical practice, and, in consequence, call for prospective randomized studies. This paper was presented at the 8th London-Innsbruck Colloquium on Status Epilepticus and Acute Seizures held in September 2022.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raoul Sutter
- Intensive Care Medicine, Department of Acute Medical Care, University Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland; Department of Neurology, University Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland; Medical Faculty of the University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
| | - Anja L Jünger
- Intensive Care Medicine, Department of Acute Medical Care, University Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland; Center for Interdisciplinary Brain Sciences Research, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, United States
| | - Sira M Baumann
- Intensive Care Medicine, Department of Acute Medical Care, University Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Pascale Grzonka
- Intensive Care Medicine, Department of Acute Medical Care, University Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Pia De Stefano
- Neuro-Intensive Care Unit, Department of Intensive Care, University Hospital of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland; EEG and Epilepsy Unit, Department of Clinical Neurosciences and Faculty of Medicine of Geneva, University Hospital of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Urs Fisch
- Department of Neurology, University Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland
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