TY - JOUR
T1 - Clinical characterization of the pre-ictal state in the pediatric population
T2 - A caretaker's perspective
AU - Patel, Puja
AU - Ferastraoaru, Victor
AU - Gold, Dov
AU - Lipnick, Andrew
AU - Jehle, Rana
AU - Haut, Sheryl R.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 Elsevier Inc.
PY - 2017/5/1
Y1 - 2017/5/1
N2 - The unpredictability of seizures causes distress to patients with epilepsy and their caretakers. To date, no studies have explored seizure prediction specifically in the pediatric population. If the period of time preceding a seizure can be reliably identified, either by child or caretaker, there may be a role for pre-emptive interventions. The aim of this study was to investigate caretaker seizure prediction. A questionnaire was distributed to caretakers of patients with epilepsy. The patients were 0–21 years old and experienced ≥ 1 seizure within the past year. We excluded patients with non-epileptic seizures or daily seizures. One hundred and fifty of 240 questionnaires met criteria. Of these, 32 (21.6%) caretakers indicated a positive report of seizure prediction. Age of seizure onset was earlier in the positive predictive group (3.3 ± 3.3 years) than in the non-predictor group (5.3 ± 4.8 years) (p = 0.01). The most common pre-ictal symptoms reported were being tired, hazy look, and sleepiness. A total of 76.6% of caretakers reported at least one seizure precipitant. The prevalence of positive caretaker seizure prediction in this study is similar to that of seizure self-prediction in adult studies. These findings will be used to design prospective online or electronic diary studies to further investigate the caretaker's, as well as children's, perspectives on seizure prediction. We anticipate that this investigation may lead to novel treatments during times of high seizure risk.
AB - The unpredictability of seizures causes distress to patients with epilepsy and their caretakers. To date, no studies have explored seizure prediction specifically in the pediatric population. If the period of time preceding a seizure can be reliably identified, either by child or caretaker, there may be a role for pre-emptive interventions. The aim of this study was to investigate caretaker seizure prediction. A questionnaire was distributed to caretakers of patients with epilepsy. The patients were 0–21 years old and experienced ≥ 1 seizure within the past year. We excluded patients with non-epileptic seizures or daily seizures. One hundred and fifty of 240 questionnaires met criteria. Of these, 32 (21.6%) caretakers indicated a positive report of seizure prediction. Age of seizure onset was earlier in the positive predictive group (3.3 ± 3.3 years) than in the non-predictor group (5.3 ± 4.8 years) (p = 0.01). The most common pre-ictal symptoms reported were being tired, hazy look, and sleepiness. A total of 76.6% of caretakers reported at least one seizure precipitant. The prevalence of positive caretaker seizure prediction in this study is similar to that of seizure self-prediction in adult studies. These findings will be used to design prospective online or electronic diary studies to further investigate the caretaker's, as well as children's, perspectives on seizure prediction. We anticipate that this investigation may lead to novel treatments during times of high seizure risk.
KW - Pre-ictal symptom
KW - Premonitory symptom
KW - Prodrome
KW - Seizure precipitant
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U2 - 10.1016/j.yebeh.2017.02.021
DO - 10.1016/j.yebeh.2017.02.021
M3 - Article
C2 - 28431367
AN - SCOPUS:85017508668
SN - 1525-5050
VL - 70
SP - 193
EP - 197
JO - Epilepsy and Behavior
JF - Epilepsy and Behavior
ER -