PSYCHOGENIC SEIZURES - VIDEO TELEMETRY OBSERVATIONS IN 27 PATIENTS

Psychogenic seizures are unusual during the first decade of life. To c ompare the clinical features of psychogenic seizures in young children with those of teenagers, the long-term electroencephalographic and vi deo monitoring studies of all patients younger than 18 years of age wi th recorded episodes diagnosed as psychogenic seizures were reviewed f rom a single hospital during the past 7 years, The 27 patients were di vided into 2 age groups: group A, 6-9 years (n = 5), and group B, 10-1 7 years (n = 22), All patients had habitual episodes recorded during m onitoring, Although the adolescents displayed clinical patterns simila r to adult patients with psychogenic seizures, the children demonstrat ed a clinical pattern characterized mainly by prolonged staring and un responsiveness. The most common behaviors in the adolescent group were tremor (45%), intermittent stiffening (41%), and out-of-phase movemen ts of the extremities (36%), Fifteen percent of the patients had a his tory of seizures, This study suggests that young children with psychog enic seizures have clinical profiles different from that of teenagers.