Pediatric status epilepticus (SE) is an expensive disorder and is not uncommon in this patient population, according to a recent review of the medical literature.
- Gurcharran et al note that pediatric SE occurs in about 20per 100,000 children each year.
- The disorder carries a mortality of 3%.
- The most common risk factor for morbidity and death is symptomatic etiology, with acute presentation more common than remote.
- A single episode of status epilepticus costs more than $10,000 to manage and can reach more than $100,000 in children with refractory disease.
- The most common cause of the condition is febrile SE, which usually occurs in early childhood.
Gurcharran K, Grinspan ZM. The burden of pediatric status epilepticus: epidemiology, morbidity, and mortality. [Published online ahead of print August 29, 2018] Seizure. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seizure.2018.08.021.
