Low-Intervention Care and Duration of Functional Seizures: An Exploratory Study

Highlights Headache, often migraine, was reported as a common trigger for episodes by 67% of the cohort. The most frequently reported actions prior EMU were turning the patient onto their side and massaging or shaking the limbs/body to "stimulate" the patient. Hyperventilation combined with intermittent photic stimulation -was one of the available methods for suggestive seizure induction in the diagnosis of functional seizures. The median duration of seizures decreased from 20 minutes (IQR 11.5-40 minutes) (with traditional first aid) to 7 minutes (IQR 4-10 minutes) in the EMU, and to 8 minutes (IQR 5-10 minutes) in the post-EMU period, under low intervention. In the three months after discharge, the median number of EMS calls dropped to 0 from a median of 11 calls.