Seizure : the journal of the British Epilepsy Association
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Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Comparative audit of intravenous lorazepam and diazepam in the emergency treatment of convulsive status epilepticus in children.
There is little evidence on which to judge the optimal treatment for convulsive status epilepticus (CSE) in children. This study compares the effect of intravenous (iv) lorazepam with iv diazepam as the first line of treatment of CSE. We studied all children with prolonged seizures arriving in the Accident and Emergency (A&E) Department in two separate periods. ⋯ There were no differences between the two groups regarding age, sex and seizure type. The seizure was successfully controlled 15 minutes after siting the iv cannula in 11 (65%) patients treated with diazepam (median time of 3 minutes) and in 20 (65%) patients treated with lorazepam (median time of 5 minutes). These preliminary results suggest that iv lorazepam may be as effective as iv diazepam.