Psychiatric manifestations of nonconvulsive status epilepticus

Nonconvulsive status epilepticus (NCSE) is clinically characterized by altered mental status and the diagnosis is confirmed by electroencephalography. Absence status (AS) and complex partial status (CPS) are the two primary types of NCSE. Patients in NCSE may exhibit a wide range of clinical presentations including subtle memory deficits, bizarre behavior, psychosis, or coma. While prognosis is dependent on the underlying etiology and possibly related to duration of the event, there is limited research in this area. Treatment focuses on correcting underlying pathologic abnormalities such as hyponatremia or drug toxicity, and initiating pharmacologic therapy. The benzodiazepines are considered the first line treatment for both AS and CPS.