Investigations

All ED patients with SE should have an intravenous cannula sited, and blood should be sent for:

• Blood sugar
• Urea
• Electrolytes
• Magnesium
• Calcium
• Full blood count (FBC)
• A blood gas, either venous or arterial to demonstrate the patient’s metabolic status

Further investigations

Further investigations will be dictated according to the specific circumstances of individual cases. These may include:

• Computerised Tomography (CT) brain
• Blood cultures
• Serum anticonvulsant levels
• Lumbar puncture for cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) evaluation [2-4].

An electroencephalogram (EEG) is rarely required in the acute setting. However, it may be of value in patients with suspected non-convulsive status, or in those patients who are paralysed and sedated [8].

Clear ictal activity may not be seen on the EEG during simple partial status epilepticus.