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Neonatal Seizures

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Neonatology

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Abstract

Neonatal seizures affect 1–3 infants per 1000 newborns in the general population. The incidence of neonatal seizures is higher in preterm infants than in term infants. The most common etiologies of neonatal seizures are perinatal hypoxic-ischemic and hemorrhagic insults, resulting in hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, stroke, and intracranial hemorrhages. Since most neonatal seizures occur as a result of perinatal insults, a majority of neonatal seizures emerge during the first 3 days of life. Infants with suspected seizures should be evaluated immediately. EEG and aEEG/EEG should be recorded early since several studies have shown that clinical recognition of neonatal seizures is not reliable. The prognosis is usually dependent on the underlying condition; the overall mortality is 10–30%, and 30–40% of survivors develop neurodevelopmental sequels with less than 20% developing postnatal epilepsy.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Women’s and Children’s Health, Uppsala University and University Hospital, Uppsala, Sweden

    Lena K. Hellström-Westas

  2. Academic Unit of Paediatrics and Child Health, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK

    Malcolm Levene

  3. Department of Neonatal Medicine, Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust, Leeds, UK

    Malcolm Levene

Authors
  1. Lena K. Hellström-Westas
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  2. Malcolm Levene
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Lena K. Hellström-Westas .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatrics Obstetrics and Reproductive Medicine, University of Siena, Siena, Italy

    Giuseppe Buonocore

  2. Department of Pediatrics Obstetrics and Reproductive Medicine, University of Siena, Siena, Italy

    Rodolfo Bracci

  3. Liverpool Women’s Hospital Neonatal Unit, Liverpool, UK

    Michael Weindling

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Hellström-Westas, L.K., Levene, M. (2018). Neonatal Seizures. In: Buonocore, G., Bracci, R., Weindling, M. (eds) Neonatology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-29489-6_277

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-29489-6_277

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-29487-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-29489-6

  • eBook Packages: MedicineReference Module Medicine

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