Evaluating patients with suspected nonepileptic psychogenic seizures.
The authors evaluate 26 patients with suspected psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES) who were referred to prolonged intensive video EEG (VEEG) in an epilepsy diagnostic center at the University of São Paulo, Brazil. Following the investigative protocol, 50% of the patients received a diagnosis of PNES, 15.4% of epilepsy, and 34.6% of associated PNES and epilepsy. In all patients in our series, PNES were the pseudoneurological presentations of dissociative or conversion symptoms in patients presenting the following mental disorders: conversion disorder, somatization or undifferentiated somatoform disorder, dissociative disorder not otherwise specified, and posttraumatic stress disorder. Psychiatric comorbidities, mostly depressive disorders, were frequent.
Projeto de Epilepsia e Psiquiatria (PROJEPSI), Instituto de Psiquiatria, Hospital das Clínicas, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil. rlmarche@bighost.com.br
Renato Luiz
RL
Marchetti
Daniela
D
Kurcgant
José
J
Gallucci Neto
Mary Ann
MA
Von Bismark
Lia Arno
LA
Fiore
D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000503:physiopathology; D015897:Comorbidity; D004569:Electroencephalography; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D012640:Seizures / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D013001:Somatoform Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D014741:Video Recording; D055815:Young Adult