Abstracts

Rationale: To assess the clinical usefulness of Diastat in Adult Epilepsy. Methods: Adult patients with epilepsy seen from Febuary,1999 through March 2000 were questioned whether they had generalized tonic-clonic seizures (GTCs) which were repetitive, prolonged or were deemed necessary to seek emergency room (ER) treatment. If present, each patient and available family member(s) were advised about therapies which could be used at home, specifically rectal diazepam (0.2 mg/kg) or intranasal/buccal midazolam (10mg/2cc). At follow-up, patients were questioned regarding effectiveness, side effects and ER visits. Results: Nine patients were identified, each having a partial epilepsy with secondarily GTCs. Each patient/family member selected Diastat. Four patients had primary brain tumor, and 5 had cryptogenic partial epilepsy. Four patients had a history of prolonged seizures, and Diastat aborted each prolonged seizure in the 2 patients who used it (5 episodes in one patient and 1 episode in the other). Four patients had acute repetitive seizures, and Diastat aborted each flurry in the 2 patients who used it (10 episodes in one patient and 5 episodes in the other). ER visits were eliminated in all but one of the nine patients that Diastat was prescribed. Sedation was the only side effect in the patients who used Diastat, which was considered mild in severity. Conclusions: Diastat proved to be effective and safe in selected adult patients with epilepsy. It was the preferred acute outpatient treatment of all patients considered. Approximately half of the patients that Diastat was prescribed used the medication. ER visits were eliminated in 8 of 9 patients who were prescribed Diastat.