Case Based Seizure Control

Diagnostic evaluation

The sequence of diagnostic testing for any animal with seizures should proceed from the least invasive to the most invasive (and expensive) diagnostic modality.
• A complete blood count (CBC), biochemistry panel (including blood glucose), urinalysis and blood pressure measurement should be performed for all animals being evaluated for an epileptic seizure. For dogs, additional testing is based upon the age, breed, seizure type, seizure frequency and neurological examination findings.

• Dogs <1 year of age and those being initiated on hepatic metabolized antiepileptic drug (AED) therapy should also be evaluated for hepatic disease with a serum bile acid study or resting serum NH4 concentrations.

• Other individual tests for toxin exposure (e.g. plasma lead, serum cholinesterase assay), parasitic or rickettsial infection, or systemic illness are based on the clinical picture at the time of presentation.

• For cats, the basic screening should include a retroviral screen for feline leukaemia and feline immunodeficiency virus and testing for serum antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii. Testing for the virus causing feline infectious peritonitis is not recommended, as the correlation between a positive titer and active CNS infection is low.
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