title: Video-EEG in the diagnosis of paroxysmal events in children with mental retardation and in children with normal intelligence.
abstract: Video-EEG monitoring was performed to evaluate 193 children (91 females, 102 males; mean age 9.6 years, SD 5.7) who presented with paroxysmal events of uncertain etiology. Diagnosis of the type of event, i.e. epileptic or non-epileptic, was successfully established in 130 of 193 patients (67.3%). Seventy children (36%) had mental retardation* (MR). Children with MR were more likely (p<0.05) than children without MR to have events during the studies. Children with and without MR had strikingly similar frequencies of epileptic and non-epileptic events. In participants who had events recorded and characterized, epileptic seizures were identified in 67 children (51.5%), non-epileptic events in 54 children (41.5%), and both epileptic and non-epileptic events in nine children (7%). Improved diagnosis prompted appropriate management. This should encourage more frequent use of video-EEG in children, especially in those with MR, to differentiate epilepsy from behavioral disturbances so that specific treatment can be provided.
authors.affiliation: Children's Hospital, Los Angeles, CA, USA. sthirumalai@chla.usc.edu
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Thirumalai
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Abou-Khalil
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Fakhoury
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Suresh
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D004569:Electroencephalography; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008607:Intellectual Disability / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D014743:Videotape Recording