Clinical investigation of infantile convulsion.
We investigated 104 cases of infantile convulsions which occurred before two years of age. These cases had no detectable signs of acute brain disorders, and they had normal psychomotor development and normal EEG findings at onset. (1) Sex ratio was 1:1. (2) A positive family history of various types of convulsions was obtained in 30.8% (Febrile convulsion: 65.7%) (3) The incidence of perinatal anoxic brain damage was higher than that in the control group. This was probably related to the incidence of infantile convulsion. (4) More than half the cases (66.3%) had the first convulsion between three and eight months of age, and 95.6% of prospectively follow-up cases were shown free from attacks before two years of age. (5) Precipitating factors to convulsion were found in 45.1% of all cases. These factors were bathing and non-febrile infection. (6) The most common form of infantile convulsion is generalized tonic and/or clonic convulsion (78.8%) within 5 min. (82.7%). This convulsion reccurs frequently in a relatively short period. (7) The incidence of subsequent epilepsy seems to have been found among patients who had had an initial attack between three and five months of age, and had then experienced convulsion more than six times or in a prolonged state.
D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000209:etiology / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D013036:Spasms, Infantile / Q000150:complications / Q000235:genetics