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VOLUME 15 , ISSUE 2 ( April, 2011 ) > List of Articles

CASE REPORT

Difficulties with neurological prognostication in a young woman with delayed-onset generalised status myoclonus after cardiac arrest due to acute severe asthma

Ian Seppelt, Joan Bourne

Keywords : Generalised myoclonus, hypoxic encephalopathy, Lance Adam syndrome, MRI, neurological prognostication

Citation Information : Seppelt I, Bourne J. Difficulties with neurological prognostication in a young woman with delayed-onset generalised status myoclonus after cardiac arrest due to acute severe asthma. Indian J Crit Care Med 2011; 15 (2):137-139.

DOI: 10.4103/0972-5229.83010

License: CC BY-ND 3.0

Published Online: 01-08-2018

Copyright Statement:  Copyright © 2011; The Author(s).


Abstract

Neurological prognostication in cardiac arrest survivors is difficult, especially when the primary etiology is respiratory arrest. Prognostic factors designed to have zero false-positive rates to robustly confirm poor outcome are usually inadequate to rule out poor outcomes (i.e., high specificity and low sensitivity). One of the least understood prognosticators is generalised status myoclonus (GSM), with case reports confusing GSM, isolated myoclonic jerks and post-hypoxic intention myoclonus (Lance Adams syndrome [LAS]). With several prognostic indicators (including status myoclonus) having been validated in the pre-hypothermia era, their current relevance is debatable. New modalities such as brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and continuous electroencephalography are being evaluated. We describe here a pregnant woman resuscitated from a cardiac arrest due to acute severe asthma, and an inability to reach a consensus based on published guidelines, with a brief overview of myoclonus, LAS and the role of MRI brain in assisting prognostication.


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