Epistatus
Epistatus is a medicine used to quickly stop long-lasting epileptic seizures in babies, children, and teenagers from 3 months to under 18 years old.
How to Use
Dosage
Your child's doctor will tell you the exact dose based on their age: for children 3-6 months (only in hospital) it's 2.5 mg (0.25 ml); for children over 6 months to under 1 year, 2.5 mg (0.25 ml); for children 1 year to under 5 years, 5 mg (0.5 ml); for children 5 years to under 10 years, 7.5 mg (0.75 ml); and for children 10 years to under 18 years, 10 mg (1 ml).
Method
This medicine is given into the mouth, between the cheek and lower gum. Gently pull out the child's cheek. Place the syringe tip into this space. Slowly squirt about half of the medicine into one side of the mouth, then the rest into the other side. Make sure the child swallows the medicine to avoid choking.
Do not give more than one dose unless your doctor tells you to.
Possible Side Effects
- •Drowsiness or loss of consciousness
- •Muscle cramps and tremors
- •Reduced attention
- •Headache
- •Dizziness
- •Nausea and vomiting
- •Fatigue
- •Agitation, hallucinations (seeing or hearing things that aren't there)
- •Temporary memory loss
- •Rash, hives (itchy bumps on the skin), itching
- •Aggression, violence
- •Difficulty coordinating muscle movements
- •Seizures (convulsions), restlessness
- •Low blood pressure, slow heart rate, or redness of face and neck
- •Shortness of breath
- •Constipation
- •Dry mouth
- •Hiccups
- •Rage, confusion, anger, euphoria (excessive happiness or excitement)
- •Thrombosis (blood clot), laryngospasm (tightening of vocal cords causing breathing difficulties and noisy breathing)
- •Severe breathing difficulties (e.g., slow or shallow breathing, blue lips). Very rarely, breathing may stop. Call emergency services immediately.
- •Cardiac arrest (very rare). Symptoms include loss of consciousness and no pulse. Call emergency services immediately.
- •Swelling of face, lips, tongue, or throat, difficulty swallowing or breathing, pale skin, weak and fast pulse, or feeling of losing consciousness. This may be a severe allergic reaction. Call emergency services immediately.
Important Warnings
- Do not give Epistatus if your child is allergic to midazolam or similar medicines, has severe muscle weakness (myasthenia gravis), severe breathing problems, sleep apnea (breathing stops during sleep), or serious liver issues.
- Talk to a doctor if your child has lung, kidney, liver, or heart disease, uses other calming medicines, regularly drinks a lot of alcohol, or uses drugs.
- Do not give alcohol or grapefruit juice during Epistatus treatment, as they can make the medicine's drowsy effects stronger.
- This medicine can affect driving and operating machinery, so the patient should avoid these activities until fully recovered.
- Using this medicine with opioids (strong pain medicines or certain cough medicines) can be life-threatening as it increases the risk of drowsiness and breathing problems.
Show 1 more warnings
- For children 3-6 months old, this medicine should only be given in a hospital where they can be monitored and have emergency equipment ready.