Missed Opportunities In New-Onset Seizures In The Emergency Department

New onset motor seizures, especially generalized convulsive seizures, are common but frightening to patients and bystanders, and typically result in evaluation in the emergency department (ED). Emergency physicians are challenged to confirm whether the event precipitating the visit was indeed a seizure rather than a mimic such as stroke, syncope, non-epileptic spell, or migraine. When a true seizure is suspected, the next step is to identify a precipitating cause.