Seizures after overdoses of bupropion intake

Seizures in eating disorders

OBJECTIVE

To complete a descriptive study of seizure etiology in a large population of eating disorder (ED) patients and to better understand whether malnutrition itself, in those with EDs, is associated with seizure development.

METHOD

In this retrospective study, 75 patients with documented seizures met inclusion criteria from a total of 1664 charts.

RESULTS

Prevalence of seizures in this ED cohort was found to be 4.5%, with 29.3% of individuals experiencing seizures due to psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES). Other common causes of seizures included substance abuse/withdrawal (18.7%), primary seizure disorder (12%), and electrolyte abnormalities/hypoglycemia (10.7%). Three patients (4%) also developed their seizures presumably due to Wernicke's encephalopathy (WE).

DISCUSSION

Several etiologies of seizures are reported from this large sample of ED patients, and this is also the first study to report on a possible association of WE as a cause of seizures in ED patients. The contribution of WE and malnutrition toward the development of seizures in this population remains to be determined, and future studies should also seek to better understand the inter-relationship between malnutrition and the other variables discussed in this article, such as hypomagnesemia, toward seizure development.

PUBLIC SIGNIFICANCE

The medical complications of EDs are myriad but seizures have not historically been considered one of those direct complications of malnutrition. The findings of this retrospective study suggest that seizure development may be a direct and indirect complication associated with EDs. The presentation of Wernicke's encephalopathy, which can also be associated with development of seizures, requires further investigation in those with EDs.

Smokers with and without Epilepsy show Similar Smoking Rate, Dependence Level, Cessation Attempts, and Motives

BACKGROUND

Individuals with epilepsy are up to twice as likely to be current cigarette smokers compared to those without. Moreover, one study showed current smoking is associated with an increased likelihood of seizures. However, outside of this one study, there is limited data on the presentation of specific smoking-related behaviors and cognitions in people with epilepsy, inhibiting our understanding of the severity of this behavior and our ability to formulate effective treatments for this population.

PURPOSE

The current study examined smoking-related behaviors and cognitions among smokers with epilepsy compared to smokers without epilepsy.

METHODS

Participants were 43 smokers with (Mage = 43.4, SD = 11.6) and 43 smokers without (Mage = 45.5, SD = 8.8) epilepsy recruited from an urban, academic setting within the U.S. Separate Analyses of Covariance (ANCOVAs) were conducted to evaluate differences between smokers with and without epilepsy in terms of smoking behavior (i.e., daily smoking rate, nicotine dependence, number of quit attempts, smoking duration, age of smoking onset) and smoking-related cognitive processes (i.e., smoking motives, perceived barriers to smoking cessation, cessation motives) after controlling for race and problematic alcohol use.

RESULTS

Smokers with epilepsy did not differ from smokers without epilepsy in terms of smoking rate (p = .51, ηp2 = .01), nicotine dependence (p = .12, ηp2 = .03), age of smoking onset (p = .42, ηp2 = .01), number of quit attempts (p = .43, ηp2 = .01), barriers to cessation (p = .30 to .80, ηp2 = .00 to .01), or cessation motives (p = .28 to .60, ηp2 = .00 to .02). Smokers without epilepsy reported higher levels of smoking for sensorimotor manipulation reasons (p = .03, ηp2 = .06) and longer smoking duration (p = .03, ηp2 = .06) than smokers with epilepsy.

CONCLUSIONS

Smokers with epilepsy do not appear to differ significantly from smokers without epilepsy in terms of smoking-related behaviors and cognitions, and may therefore benefit from current evidence-based treatments for smoking cessation that are not contraindicated for epilepsy (i.e., bupropion, varenicline).

Methaemoglobinemia Induced by Poppers and Bupropion Intoxication in the Emergency Department

A 40-year-old man presented to the emergency department with dyspnoea and fatigue after bupropion and popper consumption. Clinical examination was remarkable for central cyanosis not responding to supplementary oxygen. Arterial blood gas analysis showed a methaemoglobin value of 30.3%. Methaemoglobinemia was diagnosed and the patient was treated with methylene blue. However, during methylene blue administration, the patient developed a generalized tonic-clonic seizure that was successfully managed with diazepam. Combined intoxications can be a critical problem in the emergency department. Early recognition and treatment of poisoning are key for good patient outcome.

Three clinical pearls in the treatment of patients with seizures and comorbid psychiatric disorders

A strong association exists between epilepsy and psychiatric comorbidities, especially depression, anxiety, attention deficit disorders, and psychosis. The impact of psychotropic medications in lowering seizure threshold both directly and indirectly, hypersensitivity reactions to antiepileptic and other psychotropic medications, and how antiepileptic drugs affect psychiatric disorders are explored through three patient cases. Ultimately, in selecting an appropriate psychotropic medication for an individual with epilepsy and psychiatric comorbidities, it is important to consider the clinical and quality-of-life impacts that a particular medication will have on that individual.