Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33567109›Full record

Trial reportEpilepsia2021

Patterns of benzodiazepine underdosing in the Established Status Epilepticus Treatment Trial.

Abhishek G Sathe, Ellen Underwood, Lisa D Coles, Jordan J Elm, Robert Silbergleit, James M Chamberlain, Jaideep Kapur, Hannah R Cock, Nathan B Fountain, Shlomo Shinnar and 5 more

Registry-linked trialOpen access · bronzeAbstract readClinical Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in Epilepsia, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT01960075 (A Multicenter, Randomized, Blinded, Comparative Effectiveness Study of Fosphenytoin, Valproic Acid, or Levetiracetam in the Emergency Department Treatment of Patients With Benzodiazepine-refractory Status Epilepticus.), which is not on this map. Cited by 36 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
36citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
9.0field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT01960075 phase3completednot on this map

A Multicenter, Randomized, Blinded, Comparative Effectiveness Study of Fosphenytoin, Valproic Acid, or Levetiracetam in the Emergency Department Treatment of Patients With Benzodiazepine-refractory Status Epilepticus.

TypeinterventionalSponsorUniversity of VirginiaRan2015 to 2019Enrolled478ConditionsBenzodiazepine Refractory Status EpilepticusArmsFosphenytoin, Levetiracetam, Valproic acid
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

36 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 89 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Chronological Sequence of Convulsive Status Epilepticus Treatment Steps in a Real-Life Scenario for Patients Enrolled in a Large Multicenter Trial.Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine · 2026
    Trial
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Treatment considerations for the management of neonatal onset seizures.The journal of pediatric pharmacology and therapeutics : JPPT : the official journal of PPAG · 2025
    Article
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Review
  12. Article
  13. Review
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. Observational
  17. Review
  18. Article
  19. Strategies to innovate emergency care of status epilepticus.Neurotherapeutics : the journal of the American Society for Experimental NeuroTherapeutics · 2025
    Review
  20. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

15 authors at 12 institutions in 2 countries.

Abhishek G SatheDepartment of Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology, College of Pharmacy and Center for Orphan Drug Research, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-7348-4208
Ellen UnderwoodDepartment of Public Health Science, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, USA.
Lisa D ColesDepartment of Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology, College of Pharmacy and Center for Orphan Drug Research, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-3613-9904
Jordan J ElmDepartment of Public Health Science, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, USA.
Robert SilbergleitDepartment of Emergency Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-4101-2430
James M ChamberlainDivision of Emergency Medicine, Children's National Hospital and Department of Pediatrics and Emergency Medicine, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, George Washington University, Washington, District of Columbia, USA.
Jaideep KapurDepartment of Neurology and Department of Neuroscience, Brain Institute, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-8608-1352
Hannah R CockClinical Neurosciences Academic Group, Institute of Molecular and Clinical Sciences, St. George's University of London, London, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-5656-0141
Nathan B FountainDepartment of Neurology, Comprehensive Epilepsy Program, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-2058-0308
Shlomo ShinnarMontefiore Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-6714-3960
Daniel H LowensteinDepartment of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-5869-4020
Eric S RosenthalDepartment of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-3900-356X
Robin A ConwitNational Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
Thomas P BleckFeinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-8267-9787
James C CloydDepartment of Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology, College of Pharmacy and Center for Orphan Drug Research, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-3607-6619
University of Minnesota · USMedical University of South Carolina · USAlbert Einstein College of Medicine · USAllen Institute for Brain Science · USGeorge Washington University Hospital · USMassachusetts General Hospital · USNational Institutes of Health · USNorthwestern University · USSt George's, University of London · GBUniversity of California, San Francisco · USUniversity of Michigan · USUniversity of Virginia · US

Funding

Neurologic Emergencies Treatment Trials Network: Clinical Coordinating CenterU01NS056975 · NINDS · UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR · PI BARSAN, WILLIAM G · 2006 to 2015
$40.4M
Established Status Epilepticus Treatment Trial (ESETT)U01NS088034 · NINDS · UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA · PI CHAMBERLAIN, JAMES, KAPUR, JAIDEEP · 2014 to 2018
$16.3M
Neurological Emergencies Treatment Trials Network Statistical and Data ManagementU01NS059041 · NINDS · MEDICAL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA · PI DURKALSKI, VALERIE L, PALESCH, YUKO Y · 2006 to 2015
$9.1M
Established Status Epilepticus Treatment Trial (ESETT) - SDMCU01NS088023 · NINDS · MEDICAL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA · PI ELM, JORDAN J. · 2014 to 2018
$2.0M
ESETT Pharmacokinetic-Pharmacodynamic StudyR01NS099653 · NINDS · UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA · PI CLOYD, JAMES C., COLES, LISA D · 2017 to 2019
$1.0M
NINDS NIH HHS R01 NS099653NINDS NIH HHS U01 NS056975NINDS NIH HHS U01 NS059041NINDS NIH HHS U01 NS088023NINDS NIH HHS U01 NS088034
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveThis study was undertaken to describe patterns of benzodiazepine use as first-line treatment of status epilepticus (SE) and test the association of benzodiazepine doses with response to second-line agents in patients enrolled in the Established Status Epilepticus Treatment Trial (ESETT).

methodsPatients refractory to an adequate dose of benzodiazepines for the treatment of SE were enrolled in ESETT. Choice of benzodiazepine, doses given prior to administration of second-line agent, route of administration, setting, and patient weight were characterized. These were compared with guideline-recommended dosing. Logistic regression was used to determine the association of the first dose of benzodiazepine and the cumulative benzodiazepine dose with the response to second-line agent.

resultsFour hundred sixty patients were administered 1170 doses of benzodiazepines (669 lorazepam, 398 midazolam, 103 diazepam). Lorazepam was most frequently administered intravenously in the emergency department, midazolam intramuscularly or intravenously by the emergency medical services personnel, and diazepam rectally prior to ambulance arrival. The first dose of the first benzodiazepine (N = 460) was lower than guideline recommendations in 76% of midazolam administrations and 81% of lorazepam administrations. Among all administrations, >85% of midazolam and >76% of lorazepam administrations were lower than recommended. Higher first or cumulative benzodiazepine doses were not associated with better outcomes or clinical seizure cessation in response to second-line medications in these benzodiazepine-refractory seizures. SIGNIFICANCE: Benzodiazepines as first-line treatment of SE, particularly midazolam and lorazepam, are frequently underdosed throughout the United States. This broad and generalizable cohort confirms prior single site reports that underdosing is both pervasive and difficult to remediate. (ESETT ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01960075.).

Indexed as

AdolescentAdultAge FactorsBenzodiazepinesChildDiazepamDose-Response Relationship, DrugHumansLorazepamMidazolamStatus EpilepticusTreatment OutcomeYoung AdultBenzodiazepinesDiazepamLorazepamMidazolambenzodiazepine dosediazepamESETTlorazepammidazolam

Identifiers

PMID33567109
PMCPMC8075113
OpenAlexW3128815350

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.