title: Clinical characteristics of patients seizure following the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the clinical characteristics of patients with seizure following the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake.
  
  
  METHODS
  We retrospectively studied patients with seizure admitted to our hospital for 12weeks following the earthquake. We compared the clinical backgrounds and characteristics of the patients: before (the same period from the previous 3years) and after the earthquake; and the early (first 2weeks) and late (subsequent 10weeks) phases.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 60 patients with seizure were admitted to the emergency room after the earthquake, and 175 (58.3/year) patients were admitted before the earthquake. Of them, 35 patients with seizure were hospitalized in the Department of Neurology after the earthquake, and 96 (32/year) patients were hospitalized before the earthquake. In patients after the earthquake, males and non-cerebrovascular diseases as an epileptogenic disease were seen more frequently than before the earthquake. During the early phase after the earthquake, female, first-attack, and non-focal-type patients were seen more frequently than during the late phase after the earthquake.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These characteristics of patients with seizure during the early phase after the earthquake suggest that many patients had non-epileptic seizures. To prevent seizures following earthquakes, mental stress and physical status of evacuees must be assessed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Saiseikai Kumamoto Hospital, Kumamoto, Japan. Electronic address: y.inatomix@silk.ocn.ne.jp.
authors.forename: Yuichiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Inatomi
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, Japan.
authors.forename: Makoto
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nakajima
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Saiseikai Kumamoto Hospital, Kumamoto, Japan.
authors.forename: Toshiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yonehara
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, Japan.
authors.forename: Yukio
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ando
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D055866:Earthquakes; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012640:Seizures / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*
keywords: Earthquake; Epilepsy; Evacuation; Non-epileptic seizure; Seizure