title: Initial evaluation and management of a first seizure in children.
abstract: The pediatrician is often the first health professional notified of a child's first seizure. First seizures cause much anxiety for parents and practitioners. Parents are frightened as they witness a paroxysmal event that involves convulsions or altered mental status, and as a result, they seek answers, reassurance, and support. Every pediatrician faces the challenge of determining whether a child who had a paroxysmal event had a seizure. Therefore, it is important for the general pediatrician to have a good understanding of the diagnosis and management of a child's first seizure. This review will discuss the definition of seizures and epilepsy, the critical questions to answer during the initial evaluation of a child's first seizure, guidance for initial management, risk factors for seizure recurrence, and the value of electroencephalography in diagnosis and treatment.
authors.forename: A B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Chelse
authors.forename: Kent
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kelley
authors.forename: Joseph R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Hageman
authors.forename: Sookyong
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Koh
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004569:Electroencephalography; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D010372:Pediatrics; D012008:Recurrence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012640:Seizures / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology