title: Ecstasy intoxication as an unusual cause of epileptic seizures in young children.
abstract: In light of the widespread use of ecstasy, it is surprising that only few cases of intoxicated young children have been reported. Patients almost invariably present with convulsions accompanied by sympathetic signs and symptoms such as hyperthermia. Two new cases of toddlers intoxicated with ecstasy are described. The first patient, a 19-month-old boy, presented with convulsions but no sympathetic signs. The pediatrician's suspicion was raised because of the absence of a postictal state. The second patient, a 20-month-old girl, had a more typical presentation with convulsions and hyperthermia. Her story illustrates the fact that immunoassays for toxicological screening can easily miss traces of additional illicit drugs present in the urine such as cocaine. The presence of other illicit drugs provides clues to the child's risky environment and should lead to further investigation. Finally, we review the available literature on ecstasy intoxication to summarize the key presenting manifestations.
authors.affiliation: Clinical Department of Laboratory Medicine, University Hospitals Leuven, Herestraat 49, 3000, Leuven, Belgium, steven.pauwels@uzleuven.be.
authors.forename: Steven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pauwels
authors.forename: Francis
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lemmens
authors.forename: Kim
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Eerdekens
authors.forename: Joris
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Penders
authors.forename: Koen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Poesen
authors.forename: Koen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Desmet
authors.forename: Pieter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Vermeersch
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D005334:Fever / Q000139:chemically induced; D006801:Humans; D013287:Illicit Drugs / Q000506:poisoning*; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D018817:N-Methyl-3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine / Q000506:poisoning*; D012640:Seizures / Q000139:chemically induced*
chemical_list: D013287:Illicit Drugs; D018817:N-Methyl-3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine