Question about investigation of epilepsy

[kvetaren]

Hi there,

I'm facing a case in a test, and can't understand the given answer.

We need to give the most discriminating investigation.

"A 35 yo mechanic has recurrent epileptiform attacks. He has no history of trauma"

I would answer the Electro-encephalogram. But apparently it's the CT scan of head.

Could someone explain me please ?

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[Goro]

SDN is not for homework help

 

[longhaul3]

This is not really the place for questions like this, but it's a simple answer so I will help you out here quickly.

EEG is helpful in diagnosing seizures, characterizing them, and localizing them. We already know this patient is having seizures. You need to figure out quickly whether there is something life-threatening causing them. Structural lesions in the brain like tumors and vascular malformations are a very important cause of seizures and need to be found ASAP. Acute blood in the brain can also cause seizures and can cause coma and death in minutes to hours.

He should get an EEG but imaging is the priority. Plus if you order a stat EEG you can easily get a CT scan before the EEG techs even show up.

Also, this is a more subtle point but new-onset epilepsy in an adult is a huge red flag for a structural brain lesion. You can be quite sure that genetic and congenital causes of epilepsy are not relevant so it's highly likely that there is something irritating the brain.

 

[OneTwoThreeFour]

This is not really the place for questions like this, but it's a simple answer so I will help you out here quickly.

EEG is helpful in diagnosing seizures, characterizing them, and localizing them. We already know this patient is having seizures. You need to figure out quickly whether there is something life-threatening causing them. Structural lesions in the brain like tumors and vascular malformations are a very important cause of seizures and need to be found ASAP. Acute blood in the brain can also cause seizures and can cause coma and death in minutes to hours.

He should get an EEG but imaging is the priority. Plus if you order a stat EEG you can easily get a CT scan before the EEG techs even show up.

Also, this is a more subtle point but new-onset epilepsy in an adult is a huge red flag for a structural brain lesion. You can be quite sure that genetic and congenital causes of epilepsy are not relevant so it's highly likely that there is something irritating the brain.

And yet we all know it is alcohol withdrawal

 

[Bacchus]

SDN is not to be used for “homework help.”