Antiseizure Medication Treatment and Outcomes in Patients with Subarachnoid Hemorrhage Undergoing Continuous EEG Monitoring

Patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) with electroencephalographic epileptiform activity (seizures, periodic and rhythmic patterns, and sporadic discharges) are frequently treated with antiseizure medications (ASMs). However, the safety and effectiveness of ASM treatment for epileptiform activity has not been established. We used observational data to investigate the effectiveness of ASM treatment in patients with aSAH undergoing continuous electroencephalography (cEEG) to develop a causal hypothesis for testing in prospective trials.

This was a retrospective single-center cohort study of patients with aSAH admitted between 2011 and 2016. Patients underwent ≥ 24 h of cEEG within 4 days of admission. All patients received primary ASM prophylaxis until aneurysm treatment (typically within 24 h of admission). Treatment exposure was defined as reinitiation of ASMs after aneurysm treatment and cEEG initiation. We excluded patients with non-cEEG indications for ASMs (e.g., epilepsy, acute symptomatic seizures). Outcomes measures were 90-day mortality and good functional outcome (modified Rankin Scale scores 0–3). Propensity scores were used to adjust for baseline covariates and disease severity.

Ninety-four patients were eligible (40 continued ASM treatment; 54 received prophylaxis only). ASM continuation was not significantly associated with higher 90-day mortality (propensity-adjusted hazard ratio [HR] = 2.01 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.57–7.02]). ASM continuation was associated with lower likelihood for 90-day good functional outcome (propensity-adjusted HR = 0.39 [95% CI 0.18–0.81]). In a secondary analysis, low-intensity treatment (low-dose single ASM) was not significantly associated with mortality (propensity-adjusted HR = 0.60 [95% CI 0.10–3.59]), although it was associated with a lower likelihood of good outcome (propensity-adjusted HR = 0.37 [95% CI 0.15–0.91]), compared with prophylaxis. High-intensity treatment (high-dose single ASM, multiple ASMs, or anesthetics) was associated with higher mortality (propensity-adjusted HR = 6.80 [95% CI 1.67–27.65]) and lower likelihood for good outcomes (propensity-adjusted HR = 0.30 [95% CI 0.10–0.94]) compared with prophylaxis only.

Our findings suggest the testable hypothesis that continuing ASMs in patients with aSAH with cEEG abnormalities does not improve functional outcomes. This hypothesis should be tested in prospective randomized studies.