Clinical management and outcome of cats with seizure disorders: 30 cases (1991-1993).

摘要

30 cats were referred to the Ontario Veterinary College for recurrent seizures. Treatment was dictated by the cat's seizure frequency and by the underlying cause. Cats that were having cluster seizures or status epilepticus at the time of admissionwere treated orally with phenobarbital and with constant i.v. administration of diazepam. The other cats were treated with long-term oral administration of phenobarbital if the frequency of their seizures justified it. Follow-up included evaluation of seizure frequency, serum antiepileptic drug concentrations, and haematological and serum biochemical values. Outcome was documented on the basis of survival and seizure frequency at the end of the follow-up period, which ranged from 3 to 21 months. Six cats were killed without any therapeutic attempts at the owners' request. 20 of the remaining 24 cats were alive at the time of final follow-up. 17 had a good outcome; 11 were not having any more seizures and 6 were having a low frequency of seizures. For 3other cats, seizures were not well controlled. Four cats had been killed (2 because of intractable seizures, 1 because of post-craniotomy complications, and 1 because the owners did not want to pursue treatment). It is concluded that severity of seizuredisorder in cats is not a good predictor of outcome and that aggressive treatment is often rewarding, even in the most severe cases.