lunes, 11 de junio de 2012

Stopping Seizures with a Pen! | Medical News and Health Information

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Stopping Seizures with a Pen! | Medical News and Health Information


Stopping Seizures with a Pen! -- Research Summary

BACKGROUND: Status epilepticus is a prolonged seizure lasting longer than five minutes. Status epilepticus is a potentially life-threatening emergency that causes 55,000 deaths each year. Anticonvulsant drugs are typically delivered intravenously (IV) as a first line of treatment. This has challenges though. Placing an IV in a patient having seizures can be difficult for paramedics and waste valuable time. An intramuscular shot is easier, faster and more reliable.
(SOURCE: www.epilepsyfoundation.org)


RAMPART STUDY: The Rapid Anticonvulsant Medication Prior to Arrival Trial (RAMPART) is the first randomized clinical trial to investigate whether intramuscular delivery of midazolam is as effective as IV lorazepam, the current standard of care therapy.

RAMPART was conducted through the NINDS’ Neurological Emergencies Treatment Trials (NETT) network. Paramedics compared how well delivery by each method stopped patients’ seizures by the time the ambulance arrived at the emergency department. The investigators compared two medicines known to be effective in controlling seizures, midazolam and lorazepam. Midazolam was a candidate for injection because it is rapidly absorbed from muscle. But lorazepam must be given by IV. The study found that 73 percent of patients in the group receiving midazolam were seizure-free upon arrival at the hospital, compared to 63 percent of patients who received IV treatment with lorazepam. Patients treated with midazolam were also less likely to require hospitalization than those receiving IV lorazepam. Among those admitted, both groups had similarly low rates of recurrent seizures.

The trial started in 2009 and completed enrollment in June, 2011. RAMPART involved more than 79 hospitals, 33 emergency medical services agencies, more than 4,000 paramedics and 893 patients ranging in age from several months old to 103. (SOURCE: New England Journal of Medicine)


THE FUTURE: While autoinjectors could someday be available for use by epilepsy patients and their families, more studies are required. MORE
Stopping Seizures with a Pen! -- Research Summary | Medical News and Health Information 

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Stopping Seizures with a Pen! -- In Depth Doctor's Interview | Medical News and Health Information

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