The Treatment of Neonatal Seizures: A Critical Review of the Evidence
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In a critical review of the literature to assess the efficacy of monotherapy and subsequent combinant anticonvulsant therapy in the treatment of neonatal seizures, four studies were examined; three randomised control trials and one retrospective cohort study. Each study used phenobarbital for monotherapy with doses reaching a maximum of 40mg/kg. Anticonvulsant drugs used in conjunction with phenobarbitone for combinant therapy included midazolam, clonazepam, lorazepam, phenytoin and lignocaine. Each study used an electroencephalograph for seizure diagnosis and neonatal monitoring when determining therapy efficacy and final outcome assessments. Collectively the studies suggest neither monotherapy nor combinant therapy are entirely effective in seizure control. Monotherapy demonstrated a 29% - 50% success rate for complete seizure control whereas combinant therapy administered after the failure of monotherapy demonstrated a success rate of 43% - 100%. When these trials were combined the overall success for monotherapy was 44% (n = 34/78) and for combinant therapy 72% ( n = 56/78). Though the evidence was inconclusive, it would appear that combinant therapy is of greater benefit to infants unresponsive to monotherapy. Further research such as multi-site randomised controlled trials using standardised criteria and data collection are required within this specialised area.
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|Item Type:||Journal Article|
|Keywords:||Neonate seizures,, phenobarbital and electroencephalograph monitoring, anticonvulsant therapy|
|Subjects:||Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification > MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES (110000) > NURSING (111000) > Nursing not elsewhere classified (111099)|
Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification > MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES (110000) > PAEDIATRICS AND REPRODUCTIVE MEDICINE (111400) > Paediatrics (111403)
|Divisions:||Current > QUT Faculties and Divisions > Faculty of Health|
Current > Schools > School of Nursing
|Copyright Owner:||Neonatal, Paediatric and Child Health Nursing|
|Deposited On:||26 Jul 2010 16:12|
|Last Modified:||22 Mar 2012 02:56|
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