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Clinical EEG & Neuroscience Journal

Journal of Clinical EEG & Neuroscience, January, 2010

Nonconvulsive Status Epilepticus Presenting With Throat Clearing as Part of Clinical Seizure Semiology

Nitin K. Sethi, Josh Torgovnick, Prahlad K. Sethi and Edward Arsura

ABSTRACT

Oro-alimentary automatisms such as chewing movements, lip-smacking, repeated snuffling, swallowing and retching have been reported with seizures usually of temporal lobe origin. Throat clearing, usually along with other vegetative signs, has been reported in patients with temporal and rarely extra-temporal lobe epilepsy.

We report a case of a 93-year-old woman admitted with acute right temporo-occipital stroke. Repeated throat clearing episodes raised suspicion for complex partial seizures. Video-EEG recording confirmed frequent right hemispheric focal seizures originating from the right posterior temporal area concordant with her cortical stroke. The value of throat clearing as a sign of complex partial seizures of temporal lobe origin and its lateralizing and localizing value is discussed.

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