Analysis on the etiology of seizures in a cohort of 975 children admitted to a pediatric emergency department / 中国小儿急救医学

ABSTRACT

Objective To document the etiologies of seizures in children admitted to the pediatric observation unit of an inen r city hospital in Chian .Me thods A ot tal of 975 children ( aged 1 month to 18 years old) admitted to the pediatric observation unit of Guangzhou Women adn Children′s Medical Center between October,2013 and October,2014 with seizures were evaluated restrospectively.Results A total of 975 patients were included in this study.The causes of seizures were febrile seizures ( 588 cases,60.3%) , epilepsy( 163 cases, 16.7%) , and benign inaf ntile convulsions associated with mild gasrt oenteritis ( 111 cases,11.4%) .The main causes of seizures for children less than one year old were febrile seizures ( 75 cases,34.1%) and epilepsy(75 cases,34.1%),following by the intracranial infection(22 cases,10.0%). Febrile seizures also predominated the causes of seizures among children between one and six years old(487 cases, 70.3%),whereas benign infantile convulsions associated with mild gastroenteritis accounting for 14.0%(97 cases) of all causes.Meanwhile, the leading causes of seizures for children of six years or older were febrile seizures(26 cases,41.9%) and epilepsy(20 cases,32.3%).Conclusion Febrile seizures is the leading cause of seizures among children.Contrast to previous studies,the proportions of epilepsy and benign infantile convulsions associated with mild gastroenteritis are increasing,while the proportion of intracranial infection is reducing.Rapid assessment and accurately identifying the etiology play an important role in the management of seizures.