Citation

Bourgeois M, Di Rocco F, Garnett M, Charron B, Boddaert N, Soufflet C, Roujeau T, Zerah M, Sainte-Rose C, Plouin P, Renier D. Childs Nerv. Syst. 2008; 24(2): 169-72; discussion 173.

Affiliation

Department of Pediatric Neurosurgery, Hôpital Necker Enfants Malades, 149 rue de Sèvres, 75015, Paris, France. marie.bourgeois@nck.aphp.fr

Copyright

(Copyright © 2008, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/s00381-007-0493-4

PMID

18026964

Abstract

OBJECT: The shaken baby syndrome (SBS) is an important cause of developmental delay in infants. Epileptic seizures are a common feature of this syndrome. The aim if this study is to analyse the impact of the early and late seizures disorder. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We have retrospectively reviewed the clinical and electrophysiological findings in a series of 404 children hospitalised with SBS. RESULTS: In the acute phase, clinical epileptic seizures of various semiologies were found in 73% of the infants. Only 11% of the children had a normal EEG on admission. A poor outcome was found in 88% of the children in case of persisting EEG anomalies despite anti-epileptic treatment with 48% mortality in these patients. The development of refractory epilepsy was also associated with a poor outcome in this series. In fact 96% of the children with seizure recurrence had behavioural problems. CONCLUSIONS: The early recognition and subsequent management of these seizures is vital to prevent further neurological injury. Delayed or recurrent epileptic seizures may occur with a different semiology to the seizures in the acute phase and are also associated with a poor prognosis.

Language: en