title: Epilepsy and sleep-disordered breathing as false friends: a case report.
abstract: Because signs of nocturnal seizures can overlap with sleep respiratory events, clinicians can have difficulty distinguishing abnormal events related to sleep disorders from epileptic seizures. We describe the case of a 3-year-old child presenting with ictal electroencephalographic (EEG) activity associated with a particular form of atypical obstructive sleep apnea, characterized by increased respiratory rate, paradoxical breathing, desaturations, and tonic-dystonic posture associated with movement artifacts. Following cardiorespiratory polysomnography, the patient was initially misdiagnosed as having severe obstructive sleep apnea syndrome.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, Neuroscience, Mental Health and Sense Organs Department, Chair of Pediatrics, Sleep Disorder Centre, "La Sapienza" University, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Ottavio
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Vitelli
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, Neuroscience, Mental Health and Sense Organs Department, Chair of Pediatrics, Sleep Disorder Centre, "La Sapienza" University, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Miano
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, Neuroscience, Mental Health and Sense Organs Department, Chair of Pediatrics, Sleep Disorder Centre, "La Sapienza" University, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Alessandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tabarrini
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, Neuroscience, Mental Health and Sense Organs Department, Chair of Pediatrics, Sleep Disorder Centre, "La Sapienza" University, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Anna Rita
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Mazzotta
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, Neuroscience, Mental Health and Sense Organs Department, Chair of Pediatrics, Sleep Disorder Centre, "La Sapienza" University, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Maria Chiara
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Supino
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, Neuroscience, Mental Health and Sense Organs Department, Chair of Pediatrics, Sleep Disorder Centre, "La Sapienza" University, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Martina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Forlani
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, Neuroscience, Mental Health and Sense Organs Department, Chair of Pediatrics, Sleep Disorder Centre, "La Sapienza" University, Rome, Italy mariapia.villa@uniroma1.it.
authors.forename: Maria Pia
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Villa
mesh_terms: D001921:Brain / Q000503:physiopathology; D002446:Celiac Disease / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D003951:Diagnostic Errors; D004569:Electroencephalography; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D017286:Polysomnography; D012891:Sleep Apnea Syndromes / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D014741:Video Recording
keywords: cardiorespiratory monitoring; children; obstructive sleep apnea; polysomnography; seizures