Acute Symptomatic Seizures in Term Neonates: Etiologies and Treatments

Overview

Journal Semin Fetal Neonatal Med

Publisher Elsevier

Specialties Gynecology & Obstetrics
Pediatrics

Date 2018 Feb 14

PMID 29433814

Citations 18

Authors

Janet S Soul

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Acute symptomatic seizures caused by either diffuse or focal perinatal hypoxic-ischemic insults and intracranial hemorrhage in term newborns make up the large majority of all neonatal seizures. Acute seizures are one of the most common neurological disorders in term newborns who require admission to the neonatal intensive care unit. Despite elucidation of seizure pathogenesis in this population using animal models, treatment is limited by a lack of good evidence-based guidelines because of a paucity of rigorously conducted clinical trials or prospective studies in human newborns. A result of this knowledge gap is that management, particularly drug choice, is guided by clinical experience rather than by data informing drug efficacy and safety. This review summarizes the common etiologies and pathogenesis of acute symptomatic seizures, and the current data informing their treatment, including potential novel drugs, together with a suggested treatment algorithm.

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