Assessment of neonatal convulsions in intensive care units

ABSTRACT

This study was carried out on 30 neonates with convulsions. They were selected from Abu Elrish Pediatric Hospital and AlGalaa Teaching Hospital between September 2000 and August 2001. They were selected irrespective of the etiology of the convulsions and all of them underwent full clinical, laboratory and imaging procedures in order to reach an etiologic diagnosis and delineate possible diagnostic measures which can predict the outcome and prognosis of their convulsions. EEG was done for all patients and its results were compared to those of cranial ultrasound. Although cranial ultrasound is an easy, rapid and noninvasive mode of diagnosis, EEG proved to be superior to it and of more diagnostic value in case of neonatal convulsions since they may arise from functional derangement of the brain and not necessarily anatomic lesions