Non-Oral Benzodiazepine Combination Feasible for Seizures in Patients With Gliomas
the Oncology Nurse Advisor take:
It is feasible to treat seizures with a combination of non-oral benzodiazepines in the end-of-life phase of patients with gliomas, a new study published online ahead of print in the journal Supportive Care in Cancer has shown.
Because a rapid deterioration in neurological functioning may interfere with the oral intake of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) for patients with gliomas who are at the end of life, researchers sought to assess the feasibility of non-oral AED treatment in an outpatient setting.
Researchers enrolled 25 patients with gliomas who had a history of epilepsy and were no longer deemed appropriate candidates for further antitumor therapy. Caregivers were to administer prophylactic treatment with buccal clonazepam as soon as swallowing difficulties developed. Acute seizures were treated with intranasal midazolam.
Results showed that seizure control was achieved in all patients and none of the patients needed to be admitted to the hospital due to recurrent seizures.
The combination of AEDs “seems to provide an important level of comfort among caregivers to be able to manage seizures at home,” the authors concluded.
From Springer 
