Seizures in companion animals

This article introduces different types of seizures in both canine and feline patients. The aetiology of seizures and the diagnostic work up involved in creating a differential diagnostic list for the neurologist will be discussed. Emergency treatment veterinary nurses can provide for those patients presenting in status epilepticus will be highlighted. Short-term and long-term antiepileptic drug treatment will be reviewed including the side effects of the medication. The quality of life for seizure patients will also be analysed drawing from research and the role the owner plays in ensuring their pet retains a good quality of life.     

Seizures. Regaining control

Witnessing a seizure is not something you're likely to forget, but as a bedside nurse it's something you're bound to experience. Seizures are a transient disruption in brain function caused by excessive electrical discharge of cortical neurons in one or more areas of the brain. They affect an estimated 2.5 million Americans. Each year in the United States, 300,000 people-120,000 of them younger than 18-have a seizure for the first time, and about 181,000 people are diagnosed with epilepsy.     

Seizures associated with quetiapine treatment

OBJECTIVE: To report a case of seizures in a patient with Alzheimer disease, who was receiving quetiapine for psychoses. CASE SUMMARY: A 75-year-old white man with Alzheimer disease was observed to have seizures while receiving quetiapine 500 mg/d and carbamazepine 200 mg/d. He had been taking quetiapine for 18 months prior to the event. No other toxic, metabolic, or anatomic abnormalities were identified to explain the seizures. After cessation of quetiapine treatment, the patient remained seizure free. An objective causality assessment revealed that the adverse drug reaction was possible. DISCUSSION: The patient was taking a relatively high dose of quetiapine. An increased risk of seizures has been associated with Alzheimer disease. Using a relatively high dose of quetiapine may have resulted in seizures in our patient with Alzheimer disease. CONCLUSIONS: As with other antipsychotics, quetiapine should be used cautiously in elderly patients with conditions that can lower the seizure threshold, and special monitoring should be performed for this serious adverse effect.     

Seizures in pregnancy/eclampsia

The physical and emotional stress of pregnancy can precipitate new-onset seizures in a woman. In these cases, emergency department evaluations must rule out underlying pathology. Careful consideration of antiepileptic drug use must be considered in the first trimester as all antiepileptic drugs have been linked to some teratogenic effect. Eclampsia must always be considered in the pregnant woman who is more than 20 weeks gestation; 25% of eclamptic seizures occur in the postpartum period. Magnesium is the recommended treatment for eclamptic seizures when delivery is not possible.