Postictal apnea as an important mechanism for SUDEP: A near-SUDEP with continuous EEG-ECG-EMG recording
Jin L, Zhang Y, Wang XL (2017) Postictal apnea as an important mechanism for SUDEP: A near-SUDEP with continuous EEG-ECG-EMG recording. J Clin Neurosci. 2017 Sep;43:130-132.
Abstract: Sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP) is one of the most frequent causes of death among patients with epilepsy. Most SUDEP or near-SUDEP are unwitnessed and not observed or recorded during video-EEG recording in epilepsy monitoring units. This report describes a young woman with post ictal apnea and generalized EEG suppression (PGES) after a secondary generalized tonic-clonic seizure (sGTCS). This was accompanied by bradycardia and then ventricular tachycardia (VT). But at the end of VT, the patient's breath recovered without any intervention, such as cardio-respiratory resuscitation. This case report with continuous EEG, EKG, EMG during near SUDEP may provide insights into the mechanism of action.
Keywords: Near-SUDEP, Apnea, PGES, Epilepsy, TLE