Patient's question:
My sister contracted encephalitis when she was six years old and later developed epilepsy as a. She is now 21 years old. Recently, her epilepsy had a recurrence, leading to high fever and coma. When she was taken to the hospital, her fever subsided slightly, but her consciousness remained unclear (she could recognize people but was speaking incoherently). Two days ago, her symptoms worsened, and she fell into a deep coma. A brain MRI revealed cerebral edema. Currently, when she takes medication, her eyes can open, but she has little awareness. Without medication, she remains in a coma. What should we do now??Doctor's answer:
Epilepsy is a common neurological system disease that can occur at any age. The causes of epilepsy are very complex. Clinical data of patients indicate that it is related to various factors such as genetics, trauma, environment, mental health, endocrine disorders, drug use, and immune dysfunction. The main causes include congenital diseases, trauma and birth injuries, various encephalitis, meningitis, brain abscesses, post-epilepsy sequelae in some patients after recovery from brain schistosomiasis and cerebral cysticercosis, poisoning from gas and pesticides, hereditary family history, shock, prolonged computer game playing, high fever, excessive excitement, sadness, and so on, all of which may affect the brain and lead to epilepsy symptoms. Currently, most epilepsy treatments primarily use Western medicine to control seizures. In the treatment of epilepsy, it is essential to tailor the approach based on the specific condition and characteristics of the patient, with particular emphasis on regulation and multi-level, multi-point treatment. This involves applying pharmacokinetics and clinical pharmacology principles, targeting the lesion based on clinical characteristics, delivering medication specifically to the affected area, and designing personalized medication plans to enhance drug efficacy, avoid adverse reactions, and achieve the ideal goal of cure. When it comes to medication use, it is still recommended to use traditional Chinese medicine treatment.