title: Nonepileptic seizures following general anesthetics: a report of five cases.
abstract: Five patients who developed seizures following a general anesthetic are described. It is not possible to determine retrospectively whether or not the initial attacks were definitely epileptic, but these patients all subsequently received a diagnosis of psychological nonepileptic convulsions/seizures (also known as pseudoseizures, psychogenic nonepileptic seizures, and nonepileptic attack disorder) established by video/EEG telemetry or ictal EEG recordings. In two cases there was evidence of concurrent epilepsy. We suggest that nonepileptic seizures may develop following postanesthetic seizures and that a psychogenic basis for seizures occurring after general anesthetics needs to be considered.
authors.affiliation: Neuropsychiatry Unit, Maudsley Hospital, Denmark Hill, London SE5 8AZ, UK. idalichter@aol.com
authors.forename: Ida
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Lichter
authors.forename: Laura H
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Goldstein
authors.forename: Brian K
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Toone
authors.forename: John D C
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Mellers
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D018681:Anesthetics, General / Q000009:adverse effects*; D004569:Electroencephalography / Q000379:methods; D004832:Epilepsy, Absence / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009460:Neurologic Examination; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014741:Video Recording / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D018681:Anesthetics, General