Clinical improvement of status epilepticus after delivery: A case report

Abstract

Status epilepticus is a rare neurological complication of pregnancy, associated with significant maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality. Termination of pregnancy is not currently a management strategy. The clinical case was 35-year-old known epileptic presented with complaints of multiple convulsions of 2 days and loss of consciousness of a day. On examination, she was unconscious, with Glasgow Coma Scale 5/15, having repeated seizures, and blood pressure was normal. The assessment was status epilepticus and she was shortly admitted into the intensive care unit. She was eventually paralyzed and put on mechanical ventilation. She had a spontaneous delivery, subsequently improved, and was discharged on oral carbamazepine. Key aspects of this patient's management buttressed that status epilepticus can mimic eclampsia. That she significantly and progressively improved following delivery and that previous similar cases have been reported brings to bear that delivery might need to be considered as a management strategy for refractory status epilepticus.