ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: The objective of this study is to review the clinical manifestations and acknowledge the prognostic factors in occipital lobe seizure and benign childhood epilepsy with occipital paroxysm (BEOP). METHODS: We reviewed retrospectively 253 cases who showed occipital epileptiform activity on EEG at the Pediatric Neurology Clinic, Yonsei University Medical Center from January 1997 to June 1999, and selected 72 cases who had been followed-up for over 2 years. According to the occurrence of seizure for recent 2 years, they were classified into 2 groups : favorable and unfavorable groups. Clinical manifestations were reviewed and analyzed in each group with chi-square and student t-test. RESULTS: 1) Symptomatic group was 16 out of 72 cases (22%), and cryptogenic group was 56 cases (78%). Seventeen out of 72 cases (24%) had the clinical manifestation of BEOP. 2) Early-onset variant is 9 out of 17 cases (52%), late-onset was 8 cases (48%) in BEOP patients. 3) Prognostic factors influencing unfavorable prognosis were prematurity, LBW, perinatal asphyxia and postictal headache in occipital lobe seizure. 4) Prognostic factors in BEOP were determined by age of onset, existence of visual symptom, oculomotor symptom, automatism, autonomic symptom, postictal headache, and diurnal or nocturnal seizure. CONCLUSION: Occipital lobe seizure manifests various clinical symptoms with various prognosis. Seventeen out of 72 cases were determined as BEOP: 9 cases of early variant and 8 cases of late onset. We acknowledge the prognostic factors in epilepsy with occipital lobe seizure as well as BEOP.