Too analyze the incidence of seizures in patients with fat embolism syndrome using National Inpatient Sample data.

Using the National Inpatient Sample data set we identified adults (age 18 years old or greater) with a diagnosis of fat embolism syndrome (ICD-9 958.1) between 2005-2014 and categorized them according to the presence or absence of seizures. We excluded patients with a history of epilepsy or traumatic brain injury. We evaluated age, gender, race, Charlson Comorbidity Index, need for mechanical ventilation, tracheostomy or gastrostomy, hospital length of stay, hospital charges, outcomes, and discharge location. T-tests, chi-square and Fisher’s exact tests to compare frequencies among groups.

We identified 1,888 patients with fat embolism syndrome. 53% were male with a mean age of 56 (±57.45). The Charlson Comorbidity Index for all identified patients was 2.38 (±5.28) and was similar between those with and without seizures. Only 54 (2.86%) fat embolism syndrome patients met the criteria for seizures or epilepsy: 32 (1.64%) had seizures and 22 (1.15%) had epilepsy. Hospital length of stay was longer in fat embolism syndrome patients with seizures versus those without seizures (14.59 versus 10.82 days, p=0.09). No statistically significant difference in mortality between the two groups was seen.

Hospitalized patients with fat embolism syndrome develop seizures and epilepsy at a low rate. Further studies are needed to determine if anti-seizure medications are beneficial.