Complex partial status epilepticus (CPSE) is one of the non-convulsive forms of status epilepticus, a rare form of epilepsy defined by its recurrent nature. CPSE is characterized by seizures involving long-lasting stupor, staring and unresponsiveness. Sometimes this is accompanied by motor automatisms, such as eye twitching. Diagnosis
As is the case with other non-convulsive status epilepticus forms, CPSE is dangerously underdiagnosed. This is due to the potentially fatal yet veiled nature of the symptoms. Usually, an electroencephalogram, or EEG, is needed to confirm a neurologists suspicions. The EEG is also needed to differentiate between absence status epilepticus (which affects the entire brain), and CPSE, which only affects one region. Treatment
Treatment is in the form of anti-epileptic drugs, such as barbiturates, benzodiazepines and topiramate. References


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For these procedures, the surgical team will bypass the heart with a heart-lung machine and inject potassium chloride into the heart muscle to stop the heartbeat. Side effects
Side effects can include gastrointestinal discomfort, including nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, and bleeding of the digestive tract. Overdoses cause hyperkalemia, which can lead to paresthesia, cardiac conduction blocks, fibrillation, arrhythmias, and sclerosis.Because of the risk of small-bowel lesions, the US FDA requires some potassium salts containing more than 99 mg (about 1.3 mEq) to be labeled with a warning, while recommending an adult daily intake of 4700 mg (about 63 mEq). History
Slow-K is a 1950s development where the medicine is formulated to enter the bloodstream at delayed intervals. It was first only prescribed to British military forces to balance their diets while serving in Korea. Society
Brand names
Brand names include K-Dur, Klor-Con, Micro-K, Slow-K, Sando-K, and Kaon Cl, most of which are extended release medicine by mouth. Lethal injection
Potassium chloride is used in lethal injection as the third of a three-drug combination. KCl is also sometimes used in fetal intracardiac injections in second- and third-trimester induced abortions. Jack Kevorkians thanatron machine injected a lethal dose of potassium chloride into the patient, which caused the heart to stop functioning, after a sodium thiopental-induced coma was achieved.Cardiac arrest induced by potassium has been used in political assassinations in Iran, by injection or by inserting a potassium suppository into the victims rectum. References
External links
"Potassium chloride". Drug Information Portal. U.S. National Library of Medicine.