Editing Seizure (section)

{{Short description|Period of symptoms due to excessive or synchronous neuronal brain activity}}
{{About|epileptic seizures|other types of seizures|Non-epileptic seizure|other uses|Seizure (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2023}}
{{Infobox medical condition
| name = Epileptic seizure
| synonyms = Epileptic fit,<ref name=Shorvon2009>{{cite book | vauthors = Shorvon S | title=Epilepsy | date=2009 | publisher=OUP Oxford | isbn=9780199560042 | page=1 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7r2XZWSCJoIC&pg=PA1 | language=en}}</ref> seizure, fit, convulsions<ref name=PubMedHealth>{{cite web | title=Epileptic Seizures - National Library of Medicine | url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMHT0023035/ | website=PubMed Health | access-date=16 October 2018 | language=en}}</ref>
| image = Spike-waves.png
| caption = Generalized 3 Hz spike and wave discharges in an [[electroencephalogram]] (EEG) of a patient with epilepsy
| field = [[Neurology]], [[emergency medicine]]
| symptoms = Variable<ref name="Abou-Khalil2022"/>
| onset = 
| duration = Typically less than 2 minutes<ref name=Abou-Khalil2022/>
| causes = '''Provoked''': [[Low blood sugar]], [[alcohol withdrawal]], [[low blood sodium]], [[fever]], [[brain infection]], [[traumatic brain injury]]<ref name=Abou-Khalil2022 /><ref name=Fisher2014 /> <br />'''Unprovoked''': Flashing [[light]]s or [[colour]]s, unknown causes, previous [[stroke]], [[brain injury]], [[brain tumor]]<ref name=Fisher2014 /><ref name=AFP2012 /><ref name=Abou-Khalil2022 />
| risks = 
| diagnosis = Based on symptoms, blood tests, [[medical imaging]], [[electroencephalography]]<ref name=AFP2012 />
| differential = [[Syncope (medicine)|Syncope]], [[psychogenic seizure]], [[migraine aura]], [[transient ischemic attack]]<ref name=Abou-Khalil2022 /><ref name=Winkel2022/>
| prevention = 
| treatment = '''Less than 5 min''': Place person on their side, remove nearby dangerous objects <br />'''More than 5 min''': Treat as [[status epilepticus]]<ref name=Abou-Khalil2022 /><ref name=Fisher2014 /><ref name=Cruickshank2022>{{Cite journal | last1=Cruickshank | first1=Moira | last2=Imamura | first2=Mari | last3=Booth | first3=Corinne | last4=Aucott | first4=Lorna | last5=Counsell | first5=Carl | last6=Manson | first6=Paul | last7=Scotland | first7=Graham | last8=Brazzelli | first8=Miriam | date=2022 | title=Pre-hospital and emergency department treatment of convulsive status epilepticus in adults: an evidence synthesis | journal=Health Technology Assessment | volume=26 | issue=20 | pages=1–76 | doi=10.3310/RSVK2062 | issn=2046-4924 | pmc=8977974 | pmid=35333156}}</ref>
| medication = 
| prognosis = 
| frequency = ≈10% of people (lifetime risk)<ref name=Ferri2019>{{cite book | vauthors = Ferri FF | title=Ferri's Clinical Advisor 2019 E-Book: 5 Books in 1 | date=2018 | publisher=Elsevier Health Sciences | isbn=9780323550765 | page=959 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-L5dDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA959 | language=en}}</ref><ref name=WHO2018>{{cite web | title=Epilepsy | url=https://www.who.int/en/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/epilepsy | website=World Health Organization | access-date=4 June 2023 | date=9 February 2023}}</ref>
| deaths = 
| complications = Falling, drowning, car accidents, pregnancy complications, emotional health issues<ref name=MayoClinic>{{cite web | last=Mayo Clinic Staff | title=Seizures – Symptoms and causes | website=[[Mayo Clinic]] | url=https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/seizure/symptoms-causes/syc-20365711 | access-date=4 June 2023}}</ref>
| types = Focal, generalized; provoked, unprovoked<ref name=Fisher2014 />
}}
A '''seizure''' is a sudden, brief disruption of [[brain]] activity caused by abnormal, excessive, or synchronous [[Neural oscillation|neuronal firing]].<ref name="Fisher2014">{{Cite journal |last=Fisher |first=Robert S. |last2=Acevedo |first2=Carlos |last3=Arzimanoglou |first3=Alexis |last4=Bogacz |first4=Alicia |last5=Cross |first5=J. Helen |last6=Elger |first6=Christian E. |last7=Engel |first7=Jerome |last8=Forsgren |first8=Lars |last9=French |first9=Jacqueline A. |last10=Glynn |first10=Mike |last11=Hesdorffer |first11=Dale C. |last12=Lee |first12=B.I. |last13=Mathern |first13=Gary W. |last14=Moshé |first14=Solomon L. |last15=Perucca |first15=Emilio |date=2014 |title=ILAE Official Report: A practical clinical definition of epilepsy |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/epi.12550 |journal=Epilepsia |language=en |volume=55 |issue=4 |pages=475–482 |doi=10.1111/epi.12550 |issn=0013-9580 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name="Fisher2005">{{Cite journal |last=Fisher |first=Robert S. |last2=Boas |first2=Walter van Emde |last3=Blume |first3=Warren |last4=Elger |first4=Christian |last5=Genton |first5=Pierre |last6=Lee |first6=Phillip |last7=Engel Jr. |first7=Jerome |date=2005 |title=Epileptic Seizures and Epilepsy: Definitions Proposed by the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) and the International Bureau for Epilepsy (IBE) |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.0013-9580.2005.66104.x |journal=Epilepsia |language=en |volume=46 |issue=4 |pages=470–472 |doi=10.1111/j.0013-9580.2005.66104.x |issn=1528-1167 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Depending on the regions of the brain involved, seizures can lead to changes in movement, sensation, behavior, awareness, or consciousness. Symptoms vary widely. Some seizures involve subtle changes, such as brief lapses in attention or awareness (as seen in [[absence seizures]]), while others cause generalized convulsions with loss of consciousness ([[tonic–clonic seizures]]).<ref name="Berkowitz2022">{{Citation |last=Berkowitz |first=Aaron L. |title=Seizures & Epilepsy |date=2022 |work=Clinical Neurology & Neuroanatomy: A Localization-Based Approach |url=https://accessmedicine.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?bookid=3206&sectionid=267390240 |access-date=2025-04-28 |edition=2 |place=New York, NY |publisher=McGraw Hill}}</ref> Most seizures last less than two minutes and are followed by a [[Postictal state|postictal period]] of confusion, fatigue, or other symptoms.<ref name="Pottkämper2020">{{Cite journal |last1=Pottkämper |first1=Julia C. M. |last2=Hofmeijer |first2=Jeannette |last3=van Waarde |first3=Jeroen A. |last4=van Putten |first4=Michel J. A. M. |year=2020 |title=The postictal state-What do we know? |journal=Epilepsia |volume=61 |issue=6 |pages=1045–1061 |doi=10.1111/epi.16519 |issn=1528-1167 |pmc=7317965 |pmid=32396219}}</ref> A seizure lasting longer than five minutes is a medical emergency known as [[status epilepticus]].<ref name="Abou-Khalil2022">{{Cite book |last1=Abou-Khalil |first1=Bassel W. |title=Bradley and Daroff's Neurology in Clinical Practice |last2=Gallagher |first2=Martin J. |last3=Macdonald |first3=Robert L. |publisher=Elsevier |year=2022 |isbn=978-0323642613 |edition=8th |pages=1614–1663 |chapter=Epilepsies |chapter-url=https://www.clinicalkey.com/#!/content/book/3-s2.0-B9780323642613001005}}</ref><ref name="Nardone2016">{{Cite journal |last1=Nardone |first1=Raffaele |last2=Brigo |first2=Francesco |last3=Trinka |first3=Eugen |year=2016 |title=Acute Symptomatic Seizures Caused by Electrolyte Disturbances |journal=Journal of Clinical Neurology |language=en |volume=12 |issue=1 |pages=21–33 |doi=10.3988/jcn.2016.12.1.21 |issn=1738-6586 |pmc=4712283 |pmid=26754778}}</ref>

Seizures are classified as provoked, when triggered by a known cause such as fever, head trauma, or metabolic imbalance, or unprovoked, when no immediate trigger is identified. Recurrent unprovoked seizures define the neurological condition [[epilepsy]].<ref name="Fisher2014" /><ref name="Fisher2005" />