title: West syndrome following deep hypothermic infant cardiac surgery.
abstract: Postoperative seizures are among the more common complications of cardiac surgery in children. These seizures have traditionally been considered benign, transient phenomena with little, if any, prognostic significance. We report 4 infants with early postoperative seizures following cardiac surgery who later developed the previously unreported complication of West syndrome, with infantile spasms, hypsarrhythmia, and developmental delay. This group constitutes 6% of 67 infant spasms evaluated over a 5-year period at Boston Children's Hospital. The postoperative seizures in these 4 patients were more difficult than usual to control with antiepileptic therapy; otherwise no intra- or perioperative features distinguished these infants who later developed West syndrome from infants with apparently benign "postpump seizures."
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02115.
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: du Plessis
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Kramer
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Jonas
authors.forename: D L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Wessel
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Riviello
mesh_terms: D000324:Adrenocorticotropic Hormone / Q000008:administration & dosage; D000927:Anticonvulsants / Q000008:administration & dosage; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000187:drug effects / Q000503:physiopathology; D004569:Electroencephalography / Q000187:drug effects; D005071:Evoked Potentials / Q000187:drug effects; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006330:Heart Defects, Congenital / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D007036:Hypothermia, Induced; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D013036:Spasms, Infantile / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology
chemical_list: D000927:Anticonvulsants; D000324:Adrenocorticotropic Hormone