Clinico-laboratory profile of breath-holding spells in children in Sohag University Hospital, Upper Egypt.
BACKGROUND
Breath-holding spells (BHSs) are involuntary pauses of breathing, sometimes accompanied by loss of consciousness. They usually occur in response to an upsetting or surprising situation. Breath-holding spells are usually caused by either a change in the usual breathing pattern or a slowing of the heart rate. In some children, BHSs may be related to iron deficiency anemia. The aim of the work was to study the clinical and laboratory profile of BPHs in children presented to the Neuropediatric Clinic at Sohag University Hospital.


METHODS
An observational prospective study was done at Sohag University Hospital over a period of one year on children diagnosed as having BHSs by clinical history and laboratory evaluation, including complete blood count (CBC), serum iron, serum ferritin, total iron binding capacity, and Electroencephalography (EEG).


RESULTS
During the period of study (one year), we reviewed data of 32 children who had been diagnosed as having BHSs. We found that cyanotic spells (71.88%) predominated over pallid spells. There were positive family histories (31.25%) and consanguinity (53.135) in the studied patients. We found a high incidence of iron deficiency anemia (62.5%) in association with BHS. Abnormal EEGs were found in (65.63%) of studied children.


CONCLUSIONS
BHS is a common, important problem associated with iron deficiency anemia, which is, in turn, a common nutritional problem in our country.
Assistant professor and head of Pediatric Neurology Unit, Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Sohag University, Sohag, Egypt.
Abdelrahim Abdrabou
AA
Sadek
Lecturer, Pediatric Neurology Unit, Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Sohag University, Sohag, Egypt.
Montaser Mohamed
MM
Mohamed
Professor and head of Pediatric Hematology Unit, Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Sohag University, Sohag, Egypt.
El-Zahraa El-Said Ahmed
el-Zel-S
Sharaf
Assistant lecturer, Neurology Unit, Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Sohag University, Sohag, Egypt.
Rofaida Mohamed
RM
Magdy
Ahmed Ahmed Allam; Lecturer, Department of Clinical Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Sohag University, Sohag, Egypt.
Ahmed Ahmed
AA
Allam
breath holding spells; cyanotic spells; iron deficiency anemia; pallid spells