University:
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Course:
NURS 312 | Pharmacology
Academic year:

2020
Views:

488

Pages:

1
Author:

Alma Stephenson

4.4 – “Seize the daydream”: Ethosuximide • Used to treat absence seizures (absences clipboard). Generalized seizures that occur most often in children, characterized by sudden momentary lapse in awareness accompanied by staring, blinking, or clonic jerks (kid gazing out window). Behavior returns to normal and patients will not typically remember anything. Usually last ~10s. Will typically present with 3 Hz spike wave complexes on EEG (kid in EEG/dunce cap sitting under “3 spikes” sign) • Ethosuximide (ethos) o Blocks t-type calcium channels in thalamic neurons, preventing sustained rhymical burst discharges occurring in that region (closed bottle of calci-yum chocolate milk; T- thermos for thalamic T-type neurons o Adverse effects ▪ Dose related GI distress (kid getting beat up) ▪ Lethargy, fatigue (sleeping student) ▪ Ethosuximide can cause fatigue, GI distress, headache, itching, SJS (“EFGHIJ” – per First Aid) • Valproate (Festival) o Highly effective in management of absence seizures. Used especially if there is also a h/o tonic-clonic seizures. • Lamotrigine (llamas) o Not quite as effective as valproate, but generally effective.