- Laurent DEREX: "PEACH study (Prevention of Epileptic seizures at the Acute phase of intraCerebral Haemorrhage)"
Intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH) accounts for 10–15% of all strokes and results in death or severe disability in more than 60% of patients. The acute phase of an ICH is often complicated by epileptic seizures, likely reflecting the disruptive effect on neuronal networks of the hematoma and surrounding edema. Acute symptomatic seizures, occurring within 7 days of stroke, arise in 6–15% of the patients with ICH, mostly in the first 72 h. Their incidence reaches 30% when subclinical seizures are diagnosed by continuous electroencephalogram. Some recent studies suggest that acute seizures are associated with worse functional outcome and increased risk of death in patients with ICH. However, the impact of seizures on prognosis is still debated and it remains unclear if preventing seizures might lead to improved clinical outcome. Here, we report the results of PEACH (Prevention of Epileptic seizures at the Acute phase of intraCerebral Haemorrhage), a randomized controlled trial comparing seizure prophylaxis with levetiracetam versus placebo within 48 h of ICH onset.
