title: Seizures as the presenting symptom of brain tumours in children.
abstract: Seizures were the presenting clinical symptom in 10 (12%) of 81 consecutive children with a primary brain tumour treated in a tertiary paediatric oncology unit over 5 years. Nine patients experienced partial seizures, and in seven a waking electroencephalogram showed focal or lateralising abnormalities. Astrocytoma was the most common tumour histology. The delay in tumour diagnosis from the onset of seizures ranged from 2 weeks to 2 years with a mean of 6 months. Complete resection of the tumour was the only treatment in three patients and four underwent resection followed by radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy. Two patients died. Three patients became seizure free receiving no antiepileptic medication and the remaining five showed a 50-80% reduction in seizures between 2 and almost 5 years following treatment.
authors.affiliation: The Roald Dahl EEG Unit, Department of Neurology, Royal Liverpool Children's NHS Trust (Alder Hey), Liverpool, UK.
authors.forename: Khalid
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ibrahim
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Appleton
mesh_terms: D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004569:Electroencephalography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012640:Seizures / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology*