Status epilepticus (SE), defined as a seizure or series of seizures without recovery between lasting more than 30 min, takes a variety of forms, as illustrated in the report by Knake and colleagues1 in this issue of J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry (see page 588). In their paper, the response to intravenous levetiracetam of 16 patients with a total of 18 episodes of status epilepticus is described. The patients were all adults; the majority of episodes of SE were complex partial and symptomatic in aetiology, a case mix that might well be seen in an acute medical admissions unit. The duration of SE is not given, a pity particularly …