The effect of single oral dose of clobazam on some forms of status epilepticus

The authors administered clobazam (CLB) to treat status epilepticus in 16 patients from 3 to 62 years old. Status epilepticus was of absence type (6 cases), myoclonic-absence type (1 case). myoclonic type (1 case), tonic (1 case) and elementary or complex partial (7 cases). In all patients consciousness was sufficiently retained to allow ingestion of the drug. CLB administration was performed under EEG monitoring, in a single oral dose averaging 1.0 mg/kg. In 15 patients, the status was stopped after a period ranging from 19 to 31 min without significant sedation or other side effects. In one patient a somatomotor status epilepticus, lasting 8 days, terminated 6 h after drug administration. It is well known that the efficacy of a drug on status epilepticus depends on the clinical context and semiological form of the status. Nevertheless, the authors conclude that the pharmacokinetic properties of CLB, its mild sedative effects and ease of administration, make this a useful drug in the management of some forms of status epilepticus. © 1984 Elsevier Science Publishers, Amsterdam.