Abstract

Seizures in children and neonatal period have variety of causes; however, most of childhood seizures are idiopathic. The aim of this study was to review the causes of epilepsy in children presenting in the first 2 years of life using the International League Against Epilepsy classification released in 2010. This was a retrospective chart review study that was conducted at a tertiary center in Saudi Arabia. Two hundred and twenty-one patients were included in the study, 31 with conditions mimic epilepsy were excluded. The remaining 190 patients were classified into: Group A, structural/metabolic, 82 (43%); Group B, genetic, 24 (13%) and Group C, unknown, 84 (44%). The commonest seizures’ type was tonic–clonic in 106 (56%), followed by clonic 29 (15.3%), myoclonic 22 (11.6%) and a tonic 16 (8.4%). Pyramidal signs, global developmental delay, hypotonia, micro/macrocephaly and abnormal computed tomography and/or magnetic resonance imaging brain were more common in the structural/metabolic group (p < 0.05). Electroencephalography was abnormal in 136 (72%) patients, mostly in the structural/metabolic group (p = 0.011). In conclusion, the aetiology of epilepsy in this cohort was mainly unknown or secondary to structural/metabolic causes.

Key words: Childhood; Epilepsy; Aetiology; Saudi Arabia; Seizures.