You should seek the advice of your veterinarian if your pet is ill as only he or she can correctly advise on the diagnosis and recommend the treatment that is most appropriate for your pet.

Status Epilepticus is a neurological emergency which requires immediate intervention

Like humans animals should be considered to be in "status epilepticus" if they have recurrent seizures for 30 minutes or more, without full recovery or if they have a single continuous seizure lasting for 5 minutes or more. (See also Epilepsy)

Emergency treatment involves :

• Maintain airway patency, oxygenate
• Maintain cardiac function
• Antiepileptic drugs
  • Rapid - Diazepam (0.5mg/kg body weight) IV or per rectum
  • Long acting - Phenobarbitone.
  • Potassium bromide 
    • Now being used alone to treat canine status epilepticus
    • Cheap, few side-effects and excreted via the kidneys
    • Half-life 25 days
    • Serum therapeutic dose is 0.7-3mg/ml
    • KBr is given by mouth over 1-5 days, or 
    • Per rectum (total loading dose of 600mg/kg in 6x 250ml solution doses over 24 hrs)
• Maintain body temperature
• Based on clinical and laboratory evaluations :
  • Correct dehydration
  • Correct hypoglycaemia with intravenous glucose solution
  • Give specific antitoxins if indicated
  • Gastric lavage if ingested toxin involved
• Supplemental thiamine (an essential vitamin for glucose metabolism in the brain) as 25-50mg intramuscularly

Updated October 2013