PSYCHOGENIC SEIZURES IN CHILDREN - LONG-TERM ANALYSIS OF 43 CASES

Forty-three patients exhibiting psychogenic seizures with onset before the age of 16 years were studied. All patients underwent intensive el ectroencephalography and video-electroencephalography monitoring. Thir ty-two were female and 11 male. Mean age of the population at seizure onset was 12.4 years (range, 5 to 16 years). Twenty-one patients (48.8 %) were taking anticonvulsants. Neurologic past history was abnormal i n nine cases. Family history of epilepsy was found in 15 cases (34.9%) . Median seizure frequency was one seizure every 5 days. Clinical char acteristics of the seizures varied. However, unresponsiveness with gen eralized violent and uncoordinated movements involving the whole body (n = 19) or with generalized trembling (n = 11) were the most common f eatures. Neuropsychological testing, carried out in 22 cases, failed t o show major abnormalities in most of the cases. Significant personal and family distress was found in most of the cases. An important impac t on patient's quality of life was evident when the seizures were pres ent as compared to the seizure-free periods. There were no statistical ly significant predictors of clinical outcome.