ABSTRACT
Background: Seizure is a common cause of childhood hospitalization. Neuroimaging studies help in identifying etiologies, including the rare ones, and planning management. Purpose: The aim of this study is to determine the etiology of seizures in pediatric patients and the utility of neuroimaging in the same. Materials and Methods: A prospective study was carried out on 100 children who were admitted with seizures (including recurrent episodes) in our tertiary care institute. The sociodemographic profile, clinical features, neuroimaging findings, and findings of other investigations were documented and analyzed, to classify the type and etiology of seizures. Results: The male–female ratio among patients was 1.94: 1. Seizures of generalized onset were most common (95%), affecting mostly the age group of 1–5 years (50.53%), followed by the 5–18 years (29.47%) and the 1 month to 1 year (20%) groups. The etiologies were simple febrile seizure (51%), seizure disorder (8%), cerebral palsy (8%), acute viral meningoencephalitis (7%), pyogenic meningitis (6%), and complex febrile seizure (5%). Neuroimaging was carried out in 30 children, in which 14 showed abnormal reports, and abnormal electroencephalogram (EEG) report was found in 6 out of 10 patients. The analysis of the distribution of the types of seizures concerning age, gender, family history of seizure, history of seizure, socioeconomic status, and developmental milestones did not reveal any statistically significant relationships (P > 0.05). Conclusion: Seizure of generalized onset was the most common type, and the most common etiology was a simple febrile seizure. Abnormal neuroimaging/EEG findings were more pronounced in patients with focal seizures.