Acute visual impairment as a main presenting symptom of non-convulsive status epilepticus: a case report

Abstract Background Nonconvulsive status epilepticus (NCSE) is a state of ongoing seizure activity without convulsions. The heterogeneous and subtle clinical features of NCSE make diagnosis and treatment challenging. Here, we report a patient with NCSE who showed a main presenting symptom of acute visual impairment, which is a rare and atypical clinical symptom of NCSE. Case presentation A 62-year-old man was admitted to the neurology department after complaining of an inability to see in the right eye for 2 days and progressive headache. He had a history of poststroke epilepsy and vascular dementia. Physical examination revealed right visual field hemianopia, visual neglect and cognitive impairment. T2 and diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging showed high signal intensity in the left temporal, parietal and occipital lobes. Electroencephalography monitoring was performed, which found continuous sharp wave discharges, especially in the regions of the left temporal, parietal and occipital lobes. These findings were most consistent with the diagnosis of NCSE. Thus, a treatment of intravenous pumping of diazepam and an oral antiepileptic drug was added immediately. After that, the visual loss in the patient recovered quickly, and electroencephalography did not find epileptiform waves. On day 11, a follow-up MRI was performed, which showed that the abnormal signals of the left temporal, parietal and occipital lobes were markedly attenuated, and the patient returned to his premorbid state with a modified Rankin Scale score of 3. Conclusions Acute visual impairment can be seen in NCSE, and it can be reversed by administering effective antiepileptic treatment. Meanwhile, transient peri-ictal MRI abnormalities can be observed in NCSE.