Factors associated with rapid pediatric acute seizure emergency treatment: Quality Improvement in Time to Treat Status Epilepticus baseline cohort.

Authors

Adam P Ostendorf, Gabrielle Brown-Mitchell, Tobias Loddenkemper, Lindsey A Morgan, Brian Appavu, Raquel Farias-Moeller, Dana Harrar, Craig Press, Janette Mailo, Nicholas S Abend, William D Gaillard, Shasha Bai, Mariah Eisner, Emily Kroshus, Kathryn Vannatta, Howard P Goodkin, QuITT‐SE Study Group

Published in

Epilepsia. Jul 03, 2026. Epub Jul 03, 2026.

Abstract

Status epilepticus (SE) treatment is more effective when benzodiazepines (BZDs) are given soon after SE diagnosis. The Quality Improvement in Time to Treat Status Epilepticus (QuITT-SE) trial is a multicenter, randomized, stepped-wedge effectiveness-implementation hybrid study aimed at improving time to SE treatment. We report the QuITT-SE baseline cohort and test the hypothesis that acute seizure emergency episodes treated promptly differ in clinical and demographic features from those with delayed treatment.
Data were summarized from 371 consecutive acute seizures episodes treated with a BZD in the inpatient, non-intensive care unit (ICU) setting from 207 individual patients across eight centers per the QuITT-SE protocol. To test our hypothesis, we utilized a multivariable negative binomial mixed effects model with random intercepts to estimate the incidence rate ratios for variables of interest for time to BZD treatment.
The median age was 7 years (IQR = 3-12). Nonelective ICU transfers occurred with 26% of episodes, including 13% within 6 h of the episode. The median time from seizure onset to BZD treatment was 6 min (IQR = 4-10), with 74% of all episodes and 63% of SE treated within 10 min. BZD administration was faster when nurses made the treatment decision, when the intranasal (IN) route was used, when the patient received prior rescue medication within 24 h, or with certain elective admission types. Seizures were shorter when BZD administration was faster or when treatment was with IN midazolam versus intravenous lorazepam (median = 8 min [IQR = 6-15] vs. 10 min [IQR = 7-17], p = .04). Patients were less likely to be transferred to the ICU if they received IN midazolam (odds ratio = .3, p = .007).
Delayed BZD administration occurs in one third of SE treatment. Prolonged seizures and ICU transfers are associated with modifiable risk factors. Baseline drivers of delayed acute seizure treatment may be addressed using the QuITT-SE interventions, the study of which is currently ongoing.

PMID:
42397688
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 03 Jul 2026.

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