Mortality predictors of epilepsy and epileptic seizures among hospitalized elderly

Epilepsy and epileptic seizures are common brain disorders in the elderly and are associated with increased mortality that may be ascribed to the underlying disease or epilepsy-related causes.Objective To describe mortality predictors of epilepsy and epileptic seizures in elderly inpatients.Method Retrospective analysis was performed on hospitalized elderly who had epilepsy or epileptic seizures, from January 2009 to December 2010. One hundred and twenty patients were enrolled.Results The most common etiology was ischemic stroke (37%), followed by neoplasias (13%), hemorrhagic stroke (12%), dementias (11.4%) and metabolic disturbances (5.5%). In a univariate analysis, disease duration (p = 0.04), status epilepticus (p < 0.001) and metabolic etiology (p = 0.005) were associated with mortality. However after adjustment by logistic regression, only status epilepticus remained an independent predictor of death (odds ratio = 13; 95%CI = 2.3 to 72; p = 0.004).Conclusion In this study status epilepticus was an independent risk factor for death during hospitalization.

癫痫及癫痫发作是老年人常见的脑部疾患，且与病死率升高相关，此类病死率升高可归因于基础疾病或癫痫相关病因。
【研究目的】 明确老年住院患者癫痫及癫痫发作的死亡预测因素。
【研究方法】 对2009年1月至2010年12月期间收治的120例确诊癫痫或癫痫发作的老年住院患者开展回顾性分析。
【研究结果】 本研究纳入的120例患者中，最常见的病因依次为缺血性脑卒中（37%）、肿瘤性疾病（13%）、出血性脑卒中（12%）、痴呆（11.4%）以及代谢紊乱（5.5%）。单因素分析结果显示，病程（p=0.04）、癫痫持续状态（status epilepticus）（p<0.001）以及代谢性病因（p=0.005）均与病死率相关。经logistic回归校正后，仅癫痫持续状态仍为死亡的独立预测因素（比值比（odds ratio）=13；95%置信区间（95%CI）：2.3~72；p=0.004）。
【研究结论】 本研究表明，癫痫持续状态是老年住院患者住院期间死亡的独立危险因素。