Diastat® Update
In response to recent reports of diazepam rectal gel (Diastat®) causing clinically significant cases of respiratory depression in persons with epilepsy, Dr. Janice Buelow and colleagues at Rush Epilepsy Center (Chicago, Illinois) reviewed the charts of patients residing in 1 of 3 homes for the developmentally disabled located in Erie, Pennsylvania and Chicago, Illinois.
Data reviewed included age, seizure types, number of diazepam rectal gel administrations, respiratory response, and adverse events for 23 patients (9 to 55 years of age) who received a total of 293 doses of diazepam rectal gel, administered in accord with the manufacturer's recommended dose. Seizure types included generalized, absence, atonic, complex partial, focal, and multi-focal.
No episodes of clinical respiratory depression were associated with the use of diazepam rectal gel. Only 2 patients reported adverse events (lethargy in both cases), but no change in their respiratory status was noted.
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