New Seizure Guidelines For Vets
1 month ago 
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A new global standard has been set advising how seizure patients should be treated by both primary care vets and specialised clinicians.
Seizure emergencies are common and challenging disorders which can result in death. They have complex pathophysiology, are rapidly progressive, and tend to be drug-resistant.
Previously, approaches to treating a seizure patient have varied widely due to a lack of standardised advice. The new directive, set out in a consensus statement led by neurologist Dr Marios Charalambous, champions a clear, stage-based and prompt approach which targets the abnormal impediments responsible for sustaining seizure activity and establishing refractory stages.
Dan Lewis, National ECC Lead at IVC Evidensia, said:
“Being presented with an actively seizing animal can be incredibly stressful for owners and clinicians and has potentially dire consequences. Decision-making under such circumstances is often very difficult, even for the most knowledgeable teams, and access to these straightforward treatment guidelines will make a massive difference to how these cases progress.”
Dr Charalambous, Neurology Consultant at IVC Evidensia’s Blaise Veterinary Referral Hospital and associate at the University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, said:
"This consensus statement is the culmination of extensive research and experience in managing complex neurological emergencies. By formulating clear and universally applicable guidelines for all vets, it presents both a novel perspective in terms of how seizures should be treated, and a huge step forward in this specific field."
Dr Charalambous was joined by a panel of esteemed clinicians including Karen Muñana, Ned E. Patterson, Simon R. Platt, and Holger A. Volk, who have jointly made these recommendations based on prevailing evidence in peer-reviewed literature, as well as their own extensive clinical experience. It was then validated by the ACVIM Board-Certified Specialists before being distributed globally by ACVIM to form official guidelines for vets across the world.
As well as outlining the steps to take when presented with a patient who is seizing, the statement also suggests avenues for future research and development in the field.
Dr Charalambous will be presenting and discussing his findings at the BSAVA Congress 2024 in Manchester this weekend as part of the neurology agenda on Saturday 23 March 2024.
For more information or to request a copy of the statement visit https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jvim.16928.
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