Experience with Epilepsy in Children

Original Articles Proceedings S.Z.PG.M. vol: 11(3-4) 1997, pp. 48-51 Experience With Epilepsy in Children

Sajid Maqbool, AnjumHashim, Misbah Salam Department of Pediatrics, ShaikhZayed Hospital, Lahore

SUMMARY

Epilepsy is a common disorder among children. In order to determine the spectrum of seizures and epilepsies we studied one hundred children with two or more unprovoked seizures. Besides historyand physical examination, all children had an interictal EEG done as well. Out of the hundred children, 54 had focal seizures, 46 had generalized seizures. So partial seizures constituted a higher proportion (54%) of the total seizures which is consistent with other experiences in the developing world.

INTRODUCTION this disorder that is prevalent in our childhood population. pilepsy is the commonest neurological disorder among children. It affects approximately 0.5- PATIENTS AND METHODS E1 % of childhood population around the worldl ,2,3 . Epileptic seizures account for a large number of This study was carried out in the Pediatric paediatric out-patient and emergency room Outpatient Department of Shaikh Zayed Hospital, admission4. Still there are many others that go Lahore between January 1995 to October 1996. One undetected and untreated. hundred consecutive children aged between 4 During the last 2 decades, numerous significant months to to 13 'years who had had two or more advances have been made in the field of unprovoked seizures were included. epileptology. Epilepsies are no longer separated into Children whose history suggested non-epileptic big and small and terms such as grand ma! and petil paroxysmal events were excluded at the outset. mal are now becoming obsolete because they are too Initial evaluation of all children included a detailed vague5. Currently epileptic seizures are classified medical history and physical examination. An according to the scheme proposed by the eyewitness account of the seizures was obtained and commission on classification and terminology at the analysed in each case. In patients with more than International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE)6, 7 ,s. one type, of seizures, the most frequent type These classification are based upon clinical occurring in the past 6 months was taken as the description as well as EEG criteria and are being predominent seizure'. . A thorough physical used and accepted allover the world. As a result, examination was carried out in each case. Both communication between medical professionas and history and physical examination helped in researchers has been greatly facilitated. At the identifying the etiological factors in some. In cases individual level, an accurate diagnosis of type of where an underlying cause was found; were seizures and epilepsy helps in making a more described to have symptomatic epilepsies whereas appropriate treatment plan which in tum improves cases in whom no etiological factor could be compliance, seizure control and the quality of life determined were described as idiopathic. for the patient. A 30 minute interictal EEG using the 10-20 So far, data regarding epilepsy in children in international system of montage placement was Pakistan is scarce and very few studies describe obtained in all children. Each record was carefully seizures and epilepsies in accordance with the reviewed for any focal or generalized epileptiform classification given by the ILAE. In this hospital activity and the findings were correlated with based study we used both clinical and EEG data to clinical data to classify the seizures and epilepsies classify epilepsies and to determine the spectrum of according to the classification given by the ILAE.

48 Experience with Epilepsyin Children

RESULTS was observed in twenty eight (43%) EEG's (Tables 4 and 5). These EEG findings helped in classifying Total number of children iu- this study was one the seizure and epilepsies. These classification are hundred. Among these sixty sevent (67%) were given in Tables 6 and 7. males and thirty three (33%) females, male to female ratio was 2: 1. 85 % were beyond 1 year of age at presentation (Table 1), the majority (34%) Table 3: Presumed etiologies of epilepsy in 54 children being in the 5-9 year range, although 68 % had the with symptomatic epilepsy. onset of seizures prior to one year of age (Table 2). Causes Number Percent

Table 1: Distribution of patients according to age and sex (n=lOO). Previous encephalitis/meningitis 16 29.5 Mental retardation 15 27 Birth asphyxia 13 24 Age (Years) No. ofpatients Male Female Old head injury 03 5.5 Neurocutaneous syndrome 02 3.7 Development brain anomaly 02 3.7 4-1 15 11 4 Degenerative brain disease 02 3.7 1-4 31 21 10 Previous stroke 01 1.8 5-9 34 20 14 10-14 20 15 5 Total 54 100 Total 100 67 33

Table 4: Summary of EEG findingsin 100 patients with epilepsy. Table 2: Distribution of patients according to the age at onset of seizures (n= 100). Normal 35 Abnormal 65 Focal epileptiforrn discharge 28 43.0% Age (Years) Patients Percentage Generalized epileptifor discharge 37 56.9% Ratio of abnormal EEG's in symptomatic epilepsies 39/54 72% 04-1 38 38 Ratio of abnormal EEG's in 1-4 30 30 idiopathic epilepsies 26/46 56% 5-9 22 22 10-14 10 10 Total 100 100 DISCUSSION Epilepsy is a chronic condition and thus In fifty four (54% ) children a previous requires long term management which is mainly neurological insult was identified. These children based upon accurate diagnosis of the type of were described to have symptomatic epilepsies. The epilepsy. Although large population based studies presumed etiologies in these children included are lacking in the paediatric age group prevalence in meningitis, encephaligits (16 = 29.5%), mental Pakistan is estimated to be 2.3 % by some>. retardation (15 = 27%) and birth asphyxia (13 = The incidence of symptomatic epilepsies is 24%) (Table 3). higher in the developing wor!d2, 10, l I , because of Out of the hundred interical EEG, sixty five high frequency of CNS infections, higher birth ( 65% ) records showed an epileptiform discharge trauma and a very high consanguinity rate. In this and were considered abnormal, while thirty five series of patients as well, symptomatic epilepsy had (35%) records showed no epileptiform discharge. a higher proportion �f the total spectrum of Out of the 65 abnormal EEG's thirty seven (65.9%) epilepsies. In addition to mental retardation, had generalized discharge whereas a focal discharge previous CNS infections and hypoxic ischemic

49 Hashim et al. encephalopathies were the most common predisposing factors. Table 7: Classification of epilepsies and epileptic' syndromes of 100 patients with epilepsy.

1. Partial seizure 54 Table 5: Details of findings in 65 abnormal EEG records. 1.1 Idiopathic with age related onset being childhood epilepsy with centrtemporal spikes 4 1 .2 Symptomatic Patiellfs Percemage 24 1.3 Cryptogemc 25

2. Generalized epilepsies 46 Background 2 .1 Idiopathic '.',;0rmal 40 61.5 Absence 4 Generalized slow 23 35.3 JME ?ocal asymmetry 2 3.0 Benign myoclonic epilepsy in infancy l Others 14 Total 65 100 2.2 Symptomatic and/or cryptogenic West syndrome 7 Epileptiform discharge Lennox gastant syndrome 2 Generalized sharp waves 6 9.2 2.3 Non-specificwith symptomatic Generalied spike and wave 21 32.3 Etiology 18 Focal sharp waves 19 29.2 Focal spike and wave 7 10.7 :\!ultifocalabnormality 3 4.6 Hypsarrhythmias 07 10.7 In our study abnormal EEG records were obtained 65 % of patients which helped in Total 65 100 confirming the diagnosis and in classifying the seizure and epilepsies (together with the clinical data) in all the patients. The rate for positivity for an epileptiform discharge on first interical EEG is well within the previous experiences l2-15. Contrary Table 6: Classification of seizure type in 100 children to the situation in the developed world 1, 16-18, partial with epilepsy. seizures are more frequently seen in this study. This, however, is consistent with other studies from 1. Partial seizure 54 2 11 i9 A Simple partial the developing world , . _ Complex partial Al Motor 3 seizures and partial seizures with secondary A2 Somatosensory or special sensory generalization are more common where as the ratio A3 Autonomic of simple partial seizures is low probably because A4 Psychic they remain unrecognized or are underreported. B Complex partial Among generalized seizures, the convulsive Bl Simple partial onset folowed by impairment of consciousness 6 seizures i.e. the generalized tonic clonic and B2 Impairment of consciousness generalized tonic seizures represent the most at the onset 28 common form. This may be due to their· easier C -Partial with secondary generalization 17 recognition and the urgency for medical intervention. Myocloic seizures are similarly more 2. Generalized siezures 46 frequent as well and reflects the prepondrance of Tonic clonic 19 symptomatic epilepsies in this study population. Tonic 3 Clonic Absence seizures on the other hand made a small Myoclonic 14 proportion of all generalized epilepsies and one Absence 4 reason for this might be the poor recognition of A tonic 3 these seizures by the family and physicians. However a lower incidence of absence seizure has been reported in other studies also!&-20:

50 Er:perience wirh Epilepsr in Children

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