Sudden cardiac arrest in epilepsy patients undergoing continuous video electroencephalogram monitoring: The national inpatient sample

Objective: To examine the relationship between epilepsy and sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) and identify clinical and healthcare system related predictors of SCA in patients with a discharge diagnosis of epilepsy undergoing continuous video EEG (cVEEG) monitoring. Methods: The national inpatient sample was used as data source to identify adults (18 years and older) with a primary discharge diagnosis of epilepsy who were at some point during their hospitalization on cVEEG monitoring. We applied a logistic regression model to identify independent patient-related and hospital/healthcare system-related factors associated with SCA. Results: A total of weighted 10,059 (0.71 %) patients with epilepsy on cVEEG had a secondary discharge diagnosis of SCA. The main independent factors associated with SCA were the presence of any of the following secondary discharge diagnoses: paroxysmal arrhythmia (OR: 2.29, 95 %CI: 1.96–2.66), myocardial infarction (OR: 3.78, 95 %CI: 2.83–5.05), congestive heart failure (OR: 2.27, 95 %CI: 1.93–2.62), and anoxic brain injury (OR: 57.6, 95 %CI: 50.83–67.27). There was no association between refractory epilepsy and SCA (OR: 0.99, 95 %CI: 0.51–1.93). Conclusion: SCA is a rare event occurring in < 1% of patients with epilepsy undergoing cVEEG monitoring in the United States. Key independent contributors to occurrence of SCA are presence of select cardiovascular conditions and anoxic brain injury.