Chapter 19: Seizures and Syncope Flashcards

A set of vocabulary flashcards based on the Chapter 19 quiz and review materials regarding seizures and syncope in prehospital care.

Seizure

A sudden and temporary alteration in brain function caused by massive electrical discharge in a group of nerve cells in the brain.

Epilepsy

A chronic brain disorder characterized by recurrent seizures.

Postictal state

The period following a seizure in which the patient may be unresponsive, extremely sleepy, weak, and disoriented.

Aura

A warning that a seizure is going to begin, involving some type of sensory perception by the patient.

Tonic phase

The period of a seizure when the patient’s muscles become contracted and tense with arching of the back.

Clonic phase

The period of a seizure when muscles spasm and then relax, producing violent and jerky activity.

Status epilepticus

A life-threatening condition characterized by a patient seizing for more than $5\,minutes$ or by two or more seizures without a full recovery of consciousness between them.

Syncope

A sudden and temporary loss of consciousness.

Febrile seizure

A type of seizure most common in children between $6\,months$ and $6\,years$ old and caused by high fever.

Absence seizure

A type of seizure most common in children, characterized by a blank stare, lasting only a few seconds, and beginning and ending abruptly.

Hemiparesis

The term for weakness on one side of the body.

Lateral recumbent position

The positioning recommended for a postictal patient to assist with airway management and recovery.

Recruitment

The process of exciting an ever-growing group of susceptible neurons in the cerebral cortex or thalamus of the brain to begin a seizure.

Psychic seizure

A type of seizure where symptoms change how the patient thinks, feels, or experiences things.

Nonconvulsive status epilepticus

Seizures that produce a continuous or fluctuating "epileptic twilight" state according to American Epilepsy Society guidelines.

Supine position

The position an EMT should place a syncopal patient in to allow for improved blood flow to the brain.

Hypertonic phase

An intermediate stage of a generalized tonic‒clonic seizure listed as occurring after the tonic phase.

SAMPLE history

The medical history an EMT should gather from a responsive seizure patient, relatives, or bystanders.

Rapid assessment

The type of assessment performed if a patient is postictal with an altered mental status or has no past medical history of epilepsy.

Postictal duration

The period of recovery following a seizure which typically lasts from $10-30\,minutes$ and occasionally longer.