Managing Acute Seizures: New Rescue Delivery Option and Resources to Assist School Nurses

Abstract

Approximately 470,000 children and adolescents in the United States have epilepsy, 30% of whom experience seizures despite antiseizure drug regimens. School nurses, teachers, caregivers, and parents play integral roles in implementing a care plan that avoids triggers, recognizes signs, and provides supportive care—ideally, guided by a patient-specific seizure action plan, which may include the use of rescue medication. Benzodiazepines are the mainstay of seizure rescue medication; for decades, rectally administered diazepam was the only approved rescue medication for seizure clusters outside the hospital setting. However, rectal administration has limitations that could delay treatment (e.g., social acceptability, removal of clothing, positioning). More recently, intranasal midazolam (for patients ≥12 years) and intranasal diazepam (for patients ≥6 years) were approved for this indication. Training and education regarding newer forms of rescue medication should improve confidence in the ability to treat seizures in school with the goal of increasing the safety of students with epilepsy.