Hypoglycaemia induced by phenytoin treatment for partial status epilepticus
- IRCCS “NEUROMED”, Pozzilli (IS), Italy and Department of Neurological Sciences, University of Rome “La Sapienza”, Rome, Italy
- Correspondence to: Dr G Di Gennaro, IRCCS Neuromed, via Atinense, no 18, 86077, Pozzilli (IS), Italy; gdigennaro{at}neuromed.it
A 22 year old woman was admitted at our epilepsy unit in status epilepticus. On examination, seizures were characterised by a confusional state with little response to external stimuli, and recurrent, brief, tonic motor manifestations lateralised to the left side. Family history was negative for epilepsy and metabolic disorders. Full term birth was uncomplicated and first psychomotor developmental milestones were normal. In the past medical history there was no sign of any metabolic diseases. There were no reports of cognitive dysfunction or personality disturbances. At the age of 16, the patient presented with epilepsy, which was characterised by two types of seizures: global tonic seizures, which occurred yearly, and brief episodes of loss of contact without any other manifestations, which were rare. The patient was treated for many years with 20 mg of clobazam twice daily. The awake EEGs that were performed routinely during the years of treatment with …
