The Primary Care of Seizure Disorders

The Primary Care of Seizure Disorders: A Practical Guide to the Evaluation and Comprehensive Management of Seizure Disorders is designed to help physicians who in the course of clinical practice care for patients who have epileptic seizures. The intention is to provide a thorough but concise treatment of the subject which may serve as a basic text as well as a handy reference source for solving problems as they arise on a case-by-case basis. The book contains 10 chapters organized according to the sequence which clinical management often follows. These include differential diagnosis and genetic aspects of seizure disorders; the electroencephalographic evaluation; medical therapy of seizure disorders, including first aid and the treatment of status epilepticus; psychiatric aspects of epilepsy; problems of noncompliance; medical-legal aspects of epilepsy; and finding ancillary, community resources for patients, including voluntary organizations and patient and lay education.

Coauthors AcknowledgmentsPreface1. Seizure Disorders: Some Basic Considerations Statistics Intelligence Neurological Consultation 2. The Clinical Evaluation of Seizures Differential Diagnosis Seizures from Acquired Toxic Metabolic Disturbances Seizures Associated With Intracranial Infections Seizures Associated With Brain Diseases of Unknown Origin Acute Traumatic Seizures Management of the Single Seizure Classification of the Epilepsies Experimental Epilepsy Partial and Secondary Generalized Epilepsy Primary Generalized Epilepsies Evaluation of the Patient With Possible Seizures Seizures in Infancy and Early Childhood 3. Genetic Aspects of Epilepsy Chromosomal Abnormalities Mendelian Disorders Genetic Susceptibility Genetic Counseling Conclusion and Tables 4. Electroencephalography Source of the EEG Obtaining the EEG Requesting the EEG The EEG Report Electrogenesis of Seizures The EEG in Seizure Disorders Unusual EEG Patterns With Unproven Relationship to Epilepsy Medications and the EEG Sequence of the EEG Workup Glossary of Selected EEG Terms 5. Medical Treatment of Seizure Disorders Oral Drug Therapy Cutaneous Reactions to Anticonvulsants Other Considerations in Drug Therapy Surgical Therapy Tables 6. First Aid and Emergency Treatment of Status Epilepticus First Aid Status Epilepticus Convulsive Generalized Tonic-clonic Status Epilepticus Generalized Tonic Status and Myoclonic Status Absence Status Unilateral Status Epilepticus Partial Status Epilepticus Neonatal Status Epilepticus 7. Practical Psychiatric Aspects of Epilepsy Parents Siblings Epileptic Patient's Difficulties Differential Diagnosis Psychiatric Consultation 8. Noncompliance and the Management of Epilepsy Assessing Compliance and Noncompliance Reasons for Noncompliance Improving Compliance 9. Medical-Legal Aspects of Epilepsy Driving Special Education Employment Criminal Justice System Military Status Civil Litigation Medical Malpractice Implications of Epilepsy 10. Ancillary Management of Seizure Disorders Voluntary Organizations Patient and Lay Education UnemploymentIndex