Hackensack University Medical Center Participated in Nationwide Study that Finds Three Medications are Safe and Effective in Treating Life-Threatening Seizures

January 16, 2020 – Hackensack, NJ – Hackensack University Medical Center researchers in Emergency Medicine participated in a nationwide study published in the New England Journal of Medicine in November 2019 that concluded that three drugs are equally safe and effective in treating patients with life-threatening seizures called Status Epilepticus (SE). The new study, Established Status Epilepticus Treatment Trial (ESETT), examined three medications commonly administered in the emergency department to treat SE – levetiracetam, fosphenytoin, and valproate – in order to learn which is most effective in treating patients.

“Hackensack University Medical Center team members are on the frontlines of advancing research and innovation,” said Mark D. Sparta, FACHE, president and chief hospital executive, Hackensack University Medical Center and executive vice president of Population Health, Hackensack Meridian Health. “I would like to congratulate everyone who participated in this life-saving study for their hard work and dedication.”

SE is a life-threatening condition in which the brain is in a state of persistent seizure. SE is defined as a seizure or recurrent seizures lasting longer than five minutes without stopping on its own or waking up. There are approximately 120,000 to 180,000 episodes of SE in the United States each year.

“This study is incredibly important in treating patients with Established Status Epilepticus safely and effectively,” said Chinwe Ogedegbe, MD, MPH, Section Chief, ETC Research, Hackensack Meridian Health. “At Hackensack University Medical Center, we are proud of our participation in this groundbreaking research that will help save and improve the lives of our patients.

Exception from Informed Consent (EFIC) allows research studies in certain emergency situations to be conducted prior to consent. Meeting this EFIC regulation required extensive effort, including flyer distribution, community meetings, and public disclosure events between the Hackensack University Medical Center research study team and the neighboring community.

“The execution of this study was challenging as it involved multiple levels of regulation, including the use of pocket assistive devices, refrigerated medications in specially designed lock boxes, as well as a specialized regulation under the FDA called EFIC,” said Joseph Underwood, MD, Chair of Emergency Medicine, Hackensack Meridian Health. “By using an innovative design for this clinical trial, participating study teams were able to answer this important question in a timely and cost-effective manner.”

Hackensack University Medical Center was one of 58 sites in the nation to participate in this groundbreaking study. The Philadelphia Neurological Emergencies Treatment Trials, or Phila-NETT, a National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) sponsored network of hub and spoke hospitals conducting emergency neurological research, supported by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).