ABSTRACT
Home treatment for relapsing paroxysmal disorders has been advocated in the past but has been generally abandoned either because the agents proved ineffective (for example, the use of oral phenobarbital for the prophylaxis of febrile convulsions) or because, though often effective, they lack sufficient safety margins for general use. Other antiepileptic agents may prove superior for non-parenteral home treatment of seizure relapses. Rectal valproate (VPA), for example, has been shown to have similar bioavailability characteristics as when administered orally. It seems reasonable to expect that the morbidity associated with prolonged status and complications from relapsing cycles of habitual non convulsive seizures may best be prevented when these states can be aborted rapidly at home. Undoubtedly new agents and techniques will emerge that shall prove superior to diazepam in achieving the goal advocated in the introduction: to place closest to the patient the first line of defense against all harmful effects of recurring seizure states.
