I had a patient last night who started doing this floppy/twitchy thing. Myself and a few other veterans were at the bedside with a new grad, who screamed "He's seizing". We explained that, no, he wasn't, and she asked how we knew.
I dunno, we just knew. After you see a few hundred, you just know, you know?
I did explain that he wasn't seizing since he would bite on his ETT until he ran out of air, and then miraculously stop and resat, but this didn't seem to convince her.
Any tried and true tests you know of to prove he was not seizing?:anbd:
You make a good point. Did this neurosurgeonn have ay tricks that he used to differentiate betwee the reals and the fakes (besidesthe EEG)? It isn't even an option on the graveyard shift at many hospitals I've worked in (other than in the ER and on Neuro floors, and you pretty much have to donate a kidney to get them to give theirs up!).
Specializes in ICU,CCU, MICU, SICU, CVICU, CTSICU,ER.
You make a good point. Did this neurosurgeonn have ay tricks that he used to differentiate betwee the reals and the fakes (besidesthe EEG)? It isn't even an option on the graveyard shift at many hospitals I've worked in (other than in the ER and on Neuro floors, and you pretty much have to donate a kidney to get them to give theirs up!).
Sorry, no. It was essentially an interactive lecture to dispell the belief of what a "normal" seisure looks like. He was promoting Keppra heavily at the time.
Personally I think--give em ativan. If they're a psych person trying to pull one over on you...works too
desertnurse222
56 Posts
You make a good point. Did this neurosurgeonn have ay tricks that he used to differentiate betwee the reals and the fakes (besidesthe EEG)? It isn't even an option on the graveyard shift at many hospitals I've worked in (other than in the ER and on Neuro floors, and you pretty much have to donate a kidney to get them to give theirs up!).