PMC

P_IM-P_IV represents the absolute difference in the primary outcome between the proportion of subjects treated with IM midazolam and the proportion treated with IV lorazepam (i.e., the proportion of subjects who did not have seizures on arrival in the emergency department and who did not receive rescue medication). CI denotes confidence interval.

The shorter time to IM drug administration was offset by the faster onset of action after IV drug administration, resulting in similar latency periods until convulsions were terminated. Time to IV administration includes the nominal time (about 20 seconds) needed to administer the drug by means of IM autoinjector. Asterisks indicate means, boxes interquartile ranges, bold vertical lines within boxes medians, I bars 1.5 times the interquartile range, and circles outliers.

The number of patients who were assessed and enrolled includes any repeat assessments and enrollments for those who presented to emergency medical services (EMS) with status epilepticus more than once. The number assigned to treatment in the intention-to-treat analysis includes every patient who was enrolled in the study but only the initial enrollment for those enrolled more than once. Randomization was defined as occurring when an autoinjector was applied to the subject. “Misfire” refers to instances when the autoinjector was inadvertently triggered before it could be applied to the subject. “Malfunction” refers to instances when the autoinjector was applied but the drug was not administered because of operator error or mechanical failure. IM denotes intramuscular, and IV intravenous.