Assessment and Treatment
Medical personnel aim to determine whether a seizure is caused by a change in the patient's biochemistry, such as hyponatremia. Neurological examinations and tests to measure levels of serum electrolytes are performed.
Not all seizures that occur after trauma are PTS; they may be due to a seizure disorder that already existed, which may even have caused the trauma. In addition, post-traumatic seizures are not to be confused with concussive convulsions, which may immediately follow a concussion but which are not actually seizures and are not a predictive factor for epilepsy.
Neuroimaging is used to guide treatment. Often, MRI is performed in any patient with PTS, but the less sensitive but more easily accessed CT scan may also be used.
Seizures that result from TBI are often difficult to treat. Antiepileptic drugs that may be given intravenously shortly after injury include phenytoin, sodium valproate, carbamazepine, and phenobarbital. Antiepileptic drugs do not prevent all seizures in all people, but phenytoin and sodium valproate usually stop seizures that are in progress.
Read more about this topic: Post-traumatic Seizure
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