Skip to main content

Advertisement

Log in

Clinical significance of recurrent psychogenic nonepileptic seizure status

  • ORIGINAL COMMUNICATION
  • Published:
Journal of Neurology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract.

To explore the clinical significance of a history of recurrent psychogenic nonepileptic seizure status (PNES-status), this study describes the frequency of PNES-status in 85 consecutive PNES patients and examines whether there are relevant differences between patients with a history of recurrent PNES-status and other PNES-patients. PNES patients were also compared with 64 patients with epilepsy. Data were extracted from hospital records and a postal questionnaire (Dimensional Assessment of Personality Pathology-Basic Questionnaire; Screening for Somatoform Symptoms; Dissociative Experience Scale). Of the PNES-patients, 77.6% reported at least one seizure > 30 minutes (PNES-status), 27 % admission to intensive care with status. 38.8% reported recurrent hospital admissions with status (PNES-status group), the remaining patients served as PNES-controls. The only clinical difference between the two PNES groups was that status patients were younger than PNES-controls (mean age 20.3 vs. 30.3 years, p = 0.001). Our results suggest that PNES status is common and often unrecognised. There were no substantial psychometric differences between patients with recurrent PNES-status and other PNES patients although both PNES-groups had more abnormal somatisation, dissociation and personality scores than patients with epilepsy.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Markus Reuber MD,MRCP.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Reuber, M., Pukrop, R., Mitchell, A.J. et al. Clinical significance of recurrent psychogenic nonepileptic seizure status. J Neurol 250, 1355–1362 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00415-003-0224-z

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00415-003-0224-z

Key words

Navigation