Functional and cognitive outcome in prolonged refractory status epilepticus.

Objective: To determine the functional and cognitive outcomes of patients with prolonged refractory status epilepticus (PRSE) lasting 7 or more days despite the use of anesthetic agents for seizure suppression.

Design: Retrospective analysis.

Setting: St Mary's Hospital, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota.

Participants: Fourteen patients with PRSE.

Intervention: Hospital follow-up interview.

Main Outcome Measures: Survival rate of PRSE and functional and cognitive outcome of surviving patients based on the modified Rankin Scale (mRS) and Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status (TICS).

Results: Forty-three percent of patients (6 of 14) died during hospitalization for PRSE, and 57% (8 of 14) had died by the last follow-up. Of the 6 surviving patients, 4 showed improvement and 2 showed no change in mRS score (median mRS change, -1; range, 0 to -3). Owing to preexisting cognitive deficits, 1 patient could not complete the TICS. The 5 remaining patients scored a median of 34 on the TICS (range, 30-37; reference TICS score, >or=31; maximum TICS score, 41). Age, sex, PRSE duration, and etiology were not associated with chance of survival.

Conclusions: Despite the high mortality rate, survival with meaningful functional and cognitive recovery is possible after PRSE. Prolonged duration of status epilepticus alone should not be considered a reason to discontinue treatment.