Can we prevent SUDEP

ICNC2024
Addressing The Restrictions and Mortality In The Lives of Children With Epilepsy

Can we prevent SUDEP
Rajesh Ramachandran Nair

ICNC2024
Addressing The Restrictions and Mortality In The Lives of Children With Epilepsy

Can we prevent SUDEP
Rajesh Ramachandran Nair

The first step in preventing mortality secondary to SUDEP is understanding and identifying the factors that place individuals with epilepsy at risk of sudden death and providing appropriate counseling regarding their SUDEP risk. Several checklists and SUDEP scores from case-control studies have been developed to help identify SUDEP risk. A challenge of such inventories is that they are not validated to stratify individual risk of SUDEP, and patients and families want to be informed about their risk. Disclosure of SUDEP risk has been associated with improvement in epilepsy-related childcare behavior and practices such as administering ASMs at fixed times, using rescue medications, and having a seizure action plan. However, it remains uncertain how much individual behavioral modification may reduce the risk of SUDEP over time. Referral for epilepsy surgery should be considered early in those with medically refractory epilepsy, as it can help improve seizure control and decrease mortality and SUDEP risk. Nocturnal supervision may be protective when a caregiver is alerted early that a seizure has occurred and can provide appropriate resuscitation. However, this may be challenging for some families and impact the quality of life. There will be a discussion on the use of seizure-detection devices. Future preventive strategies include drugs that use the adenosine and serotoninergic mechanisms

Other lectures related to this symposium

Mortality in CWE: Analyzing the prevalence and risk factors
Restrictions in the lives of Children with Epilepsy: Finding the right balance
Mechanism of SUDEP; Results from recent clinical and basic sciences research