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Risk factors affecting seizure recurrence in childhood epilepsy during short-term follow-up

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Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this study is to examine the factors affecting seizure recurrence in pediatric patients diagnosed with epilepsy.

Methods

Three hundred patients presenting to the pediatric neurology clinic between 2015 and 2018 and diagnosed with epilepsy and treated with single antiseizure drug were included in the study. Medical histories and clinical and laboratory findings were retrieved retrospectively from the hospital data system. The combined and adjusted effects of risk factors on seizure recurrence were evaluated using multivariate binary logistic regression analysis.

Results

Boys had a higher rate of seizure recurrence than girls. Seizure recurrence was also higher in patients with abnormal neurological examinations at the time of diagnosis compared to those with normal neurological examinations. Seizure recurrence was significantly higher in patients with global growth retardation. Epilepsy patients with abnormal MRI findings also had a higher rate of seizure recurrence than patients with normal neuroimaging findings. In addition, seizure recurrence was significantly higher in epilepsy patients with comorbidities such as cerebral palsy and autism spectrum disorders compared to patients without comorbidities. No significant association was observed between seizure recurrence and the first drug, perinatal asphyxia history, localization of epileptiform discharges on EEG, family history of epilepsy, family history of febrile seizures, history of stay in the neonatal intensive care unit during the perinatal period, or preterm delivery.

Conclusion

Abnormal neurological examination, abnormal neuroimaging and accompanying comorbidities, and global growth retardation at the time of diagnosis are important factors affecting seizure recurrence in pediatric patients with epilepsy.

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Data availability

The data of the present study can be requested from the corresponding author.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank all the children and their families who participated in this study on a voluntary basis.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Training and Research Hospital, Bolu Abant Izzet Baysal University, Bolu, Turkey

    Yasemin Baranoglu Kilinc, Fatma Hancı & Nimet Kabakus

  2. Department of Biostatistics, Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul Medeniyet University, Istanbul, Turkey

    Handan Ankaralı

  3. Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul Medeniyet University, Istanbul, Turkey

    Seyit Ankaralı

Authors
  1. Yasemin Baranoglu Kilinc
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  2. Fatma Hancı
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  3. Handan Ankaralı
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  4. Seyit Ankaralı
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  5. Nimet Kabakus
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Contributions

All authors contributed to all study data, revised, and approved the final version of the manuscript. YBK and FH designed the study, and YBK acquired the data. HA and SA analyzed the data; YBK, FH, and NK drafted the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yasemin Baranoglu Kilinc.

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Ethical approval

This study was approved by the Bolu Abant Izzet Baysal University Clinical Research Ethics Committee (license number: 2019/317), and all procedures carried out in the study involving human participants were in accordance with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants for whom identifying information is included in this article.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Kilinc, Y.B., Hancı, F., Ankaralı, H. et al. Risk factors affecting seizure recurrence in childhood epilepsy during short-term follow-up. Childs Nerv Syst 37, 2857–2863 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00381-021-05227-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00381-021-05227-3

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