Mortality in the first 30 days following incident acute symptomatic seizures.

Purpose: Very little is known about short-term mortality after acute symptomatic seizure. One study found an increased mortality in the first year after acute symptomatic seizure, like mortality following acute symptomatic status epilepticus. Methods: We studied mortality in the first 30 days after an acute symptomatic seizure in two cohorts. In Washington Heights, New York City, we reviewed the medical records of all adults aged 20 years and older seen at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center from January 1, 1990 through December 13, 1994 to identify incident acute symptomatic seizure. In Rochester, Minnesota, the medical records of all Rochester residents were reviewed to identify incident…