Challenges in Seizure Management.

Healthcare professionals must be cognizant of common and life-threatening diseases that are encountered on a daily basis. Although seizures are common, they sometimes pose life-threatening challenges. A seizure is not a specific disease process in itself, but it can be a manifestation of many different disorders, either of a medical or surgical nature. Distinguishing between loss of consciousness caused by an epileptic seizure and one caused by a cardiac event can be difficult. Similar characteristics of the symptoms may cause an incorrect assessment, leading to a wrong diagnosis and inappropriate treatment. Because seizures have a broad differential diagnosis, the appropriate approach to initial evaluation, clinical diagnosis, and therapy is important. This article provides an overview of seizures, including etiology pathophysiology classification and clinical presentation, diagnostic evaluation, differential diagnosis, and treatment as groundwork for a case study of a patient with a seizure event. The case scenario offers suggestions in performing a careful and accurate assessment. In addition, different causes of seizures are discussed, and recommendations are made to accurately recognize a seizure attack when it occurs and treat it before it leads to a cardiac event. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]