[Status epilepticus in the course of epilepsy in children and adolescents].
Status epilepticus (SP) is defined as a single seizure or recurrent seizures of over 30 min. duration, without regaining full consciousness. In approximately 50% of cases SE is related to epilepsy. The International League Against Epilepsy has recently proposed a new SE classification (2001). The purpose of this prospective study is to evaluate SE incidence in children and adolescents in relation to their age and type of epilepsy, as well as to determine usefulness of the new classification of SE. A group of 600 children and adolescents with epilepsy was observed prospectively. The inclusion criteria were: recently diagnosed epilepsy in children aged under 15 years, and long-term treatment and observations (mean = 5 years, SD = 3.2). Out of the 600 children and adolescents with epilepsy 39 (6.1%) had one or more episodes during the observation period. Two factors were correlated with SE: age at the onset of epilepsy (under 5 years), and the type of epileptic syndrome (the Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, myoclonic-astatic epilepsy, symptomatic and cryptogenic partial epilepsy, progressive myoclonic epilepsy, and the Kojevnikov syndrome). Only in a fourth of the patients the cause of SP was related to a known factor, such as e.g. infection or sudden discontinuation of anti-epileptic medication. The currently used classification of SP (by Appelton and Gibbs) was found to be more useful than the one newly proposed by ILAE, because the former is better suited to the evaluation of SE in children.
Szczepanik
Elzbieta
E
Kliniki Neurologii Dzieci i Młodziezy, Instytutu Matki i Dziecka w Warszawie.
Czochańska
Jagna
J
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004569:Electroencephalography; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D013226:Status Epilepticus / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology