Seizures: emergency medication and outcomes in Sturge-Weber Syndrome.

Published September 2013

Download the full evidence summary PDF: WTE Emergency medication Sturge-Weber

PLEASE NOTE: This summary was produced more than 4 years ago. Information provided may be out of date. If you think it would be helpful to update this summary please contact us at pencru@exeter.ac.uk

What were we asked?

A parent asked whether there is any evidence for:

How long after seizure onset (i.e. 5, 10, 30 minutes) it is best to use emergency medication (buccal midazolam or rectal diazepam) when treating a child with Sturge-Weber syndrome who is having a seizure, to reduce the likelihood of entering prolonged or repeated seizures or status epilepticus?
Whether delaying treatment with emergency medication after seizure onset in children, or being unable to stop seizure activity, increases the risk of learning disability?

Key findings

NICE guidance is that emergency medication should be administered after five minutes of prolonged seizure activity to try and prevent children entering status epilepticus.
Children who have frequent episodes of seizures may have individually tailored guidelines which should be followed when they have a seizure.
The long-term effect of prolonged seizures on learning disability is not clear.

Note: This information is produced by PenCRU researchers and reviewed by external experts. The views expressed are those of PenCRU at the University of Exeter Medical School and do not represent the views of the Cerebra charity, or any other parties mentioned. We strongly recommend seeking medical advice before undertaking any treatments/therapies.