The role of ketogenic diet in the treatment of refractory status epilepticus

Summary Ketogenic diet (KD) is known to be effective in intractable epilepsy. However, the role of KD in refractory status epilepticus (RSE) has not been well described. The aim of this study is to explore the role of KD in patients with RSE. We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of four c...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Epilepsia (Copenhagen) 2011-11, Vol.52 (11), p.e181-e184
Main Authors: Nam, Sook Hyun, Lee, Bo Lyun, Lee, Cha Gon, Yu, Hee Joon, Joo, Eun Yeon, Lee, Jeehun, Lee, Munhyang
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Anticonvulsants - therapeutic use
Antiepileptic agents
Child
Child, Preschool
Children
Constipation
Convulsions & seizures
Diet, Ketogenic
Encephalitis
Epilepsy
Female
Gastroesophageal reflux
Humans
Hypertriglyceridemia
Ketogenesis
Ketogenic diet
Male
medical records
Pneumonia
Refractory status epilepticus
Retrospective Studies
Seizures
Status Epilepticus - diet therapy
Status Epilepticus - drug therapy
Treatment Failure
Treatment Outcome
Ventilation
Viral encephalitis
Citations: Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Summary Ketogenic diet (KD) is known to be effective in intractable epilepsy. However, the role of KD in refractory status epilepticus (RSE) has not been well described. The aim of this study is to explore the role of KD in patients with RSE. We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of four children and one adult with RSE between October 2006 and August 2010. All presented with status epilepticus (SE) that was presumed to be associated with viral encephalitis. After we failed to control the seizures with standard measures for SE, we tried KD. The overall seizure frequency decreased to 90% seizure reduction, and the others had >75% decrease without generalized seizures. With improvement in the RSE, we were able to taper the antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) and wean patients from prolonged mechanical ventilation. The adverse events of KD in RSE included aspiration pneumonia, gastroesophageal reflux, constipation, and hypertriglyceridemia. Those results demonstrate that KD can be a valuable therapeutic option for patients with RSE.
ISSN:0013-9580
1528-1167
DOI:10.1111/j.1528-1167.2011.03289.x