title: Clinical-etiological and therapeutic profile of 719 Mexican epileptic children.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  We performed this study with the intention of describing the clinical-etiological characteristics and therapeutic responses in a group of epileptic children seen at the Instituto Nacional de Pediatría (INP), a tertiary facility in Mexico City.
  
  
  METHODS
  All patients who attended the Epileptic Clinic between March and June 1998 and fulfilled the selection criteria were enrolled in the study. Clinical and therapeutic response data were recorded. Three groups were formed by etiology. Statistical tests were two-tailed, with alpha=0.05.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In all, 719 patients were studied. The distribution by etiology was as follows: group I, idiopathic (123 patients); group II, cryptogenic (132); and group III, symptomatic (464). In group I, 56% of the patients were female. Mean age at onset was 5 years 2 months (SD: 3 years 8 months) in group I; 1 year 11 months (SD: 2 years 5 months) in group II; and 2 years 10 months (SD: 3 years 1 month) in group III. The mean evolution time was 5 years 4 months (SD: 4 years) in all groups. The most frequent variety of epilepsy in the three groups was generalized epilepsy, followed by partial epilepsy. The following epileptic syndromes were identified: in group I, 28 patients had epilepsy with generalized tonic-clonic seizures, 15, absence epilepsy, and 6, benign rolandic seizures; in group II, all 32 patients had focal cryptogenic epilepsy; in group III, 235 had generalized symptomatic and 192, focal symptomatic epilepsy. The main etiologies were hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (24%) and neural infections (22%). Appropriate seizure control was achieved in 108 (87%) patients in group I; 84 (64%) in group II; and 315 (68%) in group III. In group I, no patient needed more than two antiepileptic drugs and 90% had normal psychomotor development.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  When the three groups were compared in terms of appropriate epileptic control and normal psychomotor development, group I differed from the other groups and the difference was statistically significant.
authors.affiliation: Neurology Department, Instituto Nacional de Pediatría, Insurgentes Sur 3700C, 04530 Mexico D.F., Mexico. marui@intramed.net.mx
authors.forename: Matilde
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ruiz-García
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sosa-de-Martinez
authors.forename: Adalberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: González-Astiazarán
authors.forename: Fernando
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rueda-Franco
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000927:Anticonvulsants / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002494:Central Nervous System Infections / Q000150:complications; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D020925:Hypoxia-Ischemia, Brain / Q000150:complications; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008800:Mexico / Q000453:epidemiology; D012494:Sampling Studies; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000927:Anticonvulsants