Status epilepticus non-convulsive

A 69-year-old female was brought to the emergency room after her family had not received regular communication from her after several days. She was awake upon examination, but her family reported that she was "not right". She appeared very emotional. She was appropriately responsive to simple questions, but at times she appeared to be talking to herself, was actively hallucinating, and was acting as though there were other people in the room that were talking with her. The patient had no prior history of similar behavior. She had been independent and had reported no other recent problems. In the emergency room her vital signs, laboratory studies, and temperature were all within normal limits. She was attended to by the chief of medicine who wanted to transfer the patient to an inpatient psychiatric facility due to his belief that this must be the presentation of a dementia that was likely Alzheimer's disease. The following EEG was obtained (Fig. 37.1):