Status non-epilepticus.

OBJECTIVE

Status non-epilepticus is characterized by recurrent or prolonged psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES), which are often mistaken for status epilepticus (SE). This study focuses on the misdiagnosis of convulsive SE in patients whose seizures were of psychogenic origin.

METHODS

We analyzed 13 events of 8 patients initially misdiagnosed as having convulsive SE. The diagnostic evaluation included a review of their clinical presentation, treatment, and treatment response.

RESULTS

The patients in this study were predominantly treated with benzodiazepines (BZD). However, this treatment, together with anti-seizure medications (ASM) was mostly ineffective, leading to tracheal intubation in eight of the cases.

SIGNIFICANCE: When a convulsive event does not cease with BZD and ASM, we suggest considering a differential diagnosis of PNES. The poor response to BZD raises several hypotheses regarding the origin of PNES.