Prevalence of different types of seizures in a poisoning referral center

Abstract

Background: Poisoning is a common cause of seizure in an emergency department. Type of the seizure can be isolated, recurrent or as status epilepticus. Since accessing to different poisons and drugs is various among people of different societies and because of seizure complications, we investigated the prevalence of different type of seizures in poisoned cases. Methods: In a cross-sectional descriptive and analytic study, all cases with poisoning due to drugs or poisons admitted in Noor Hospital, Isfahan, Iran, during May 2014 till October 2016 were enrolled and those with seizure were evaluated regarding different variables including type of seizure and outcomes. Data were recorded in a check list and analysis using SPSS software. Findings: From 2319 evaluated patients, 137 cases were recorded to have seizures (101 cases of isolated type and 35 cases of recurrent or status epilepticus types). 123 patients committed suicide. Most of the cases were in age of 20-29 years. The seizure was common more in men. The most common drug in isolated seizure type was tramadol (61.4), combination of different drugs (8.0) and anti-convulsants (7.9); and in recurrent and status epilepticus type, tramadol (37.1), combination of different drugs (28.6) and anti-depressant and stimulants (8.6 each one) were the most used drugs, respectively. Conclusion: Isolated seizure was the most prevalent type of seizure in cases with poisoning. Most of the observed seizures were in men, age of 20-29 years, and by tramadol tablets. © 2016, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences(IUMS). All rights reserved.