Status Epilepticus

[stevosmusic]

Okay guys maybe I am just stupid but I can't seem to figure this out. Why does a patient who suffers from a status epilepticus have a hypoglycemia during a seizure. I know we are supposed to monitor glucose levels during this but can't figure it out. Sorry I am studying for my pharmacology final and was stumped by this. I probably don't need to know for the final but now I am curious.

[tcvnurse, BSN, RN]

Seizures are very hard on the body. They can absolutely cause hypoglycemia. Just think about all the muscles in your body working at once! Do you know how much energy that burns? A whole lot. Also something to watch out for-seizing patients frequently will become hypoxic because A- they may not be able to breathe effectively, and B- oxygen demand is so high during this time.

But the above poster who stead that low blood sugar can cause seizures is correct. Very low sugar usually. But seizures WILL cause hypoglycemia. One of your first interventions should be to assess breathing, pulse ox etc and then get an accucheck. Hope this is helpful.

[KelRN215, BSN, RN]

If someone is seizing for 20 minutes, I wouldn't expect them to be alive. You will see patients start to go blue from hypoxia when they have seizures.

I've seen patients in status epilepticus for DAYS. Most often when it lasts that long it is subclinical status. Other times they need to be put in pentobarb or versed comas to break the status. It's not like we just sit by and watch someone seize in status without interventing. If someone is hypoxic due to a prolonged seizure they will be bagged and then intubated.