SUMMARY
In a prospective study of 130 infants with neonatal convulsions, the frequency and type of epilepsy and the relationship between the presumptive etiology of neonatal convulsions and subsequent epilepsy were investigated in 82 survivors excluding those dying and lost to follow‐up. Of these 82 children, 15 (18.2%) were found to have epilepsy, which was of generalized type in seven (8.5%), infantile spasm in four (4.9%), focal seizures in three (3.6%) and myoclonic seizures in one (1.2%). Febrile convulsions were noted in two children (2.5%). The presumed causes of neonatal convulsions were asphyxia, intracranial hemorrhage or neonatal meningitides in most instances, but no particular relationship was noted between the presumptive etiology of neonatal convulsions and the type of subsequent epilepsy. In 11 (73.3%) of the 15 epileptic children, concurrent mental retardation, cerebral palsy and postmeningitic hydrocephalus were noted. Evidence from RI cisternography, pneumo‐encephalography and cerebral angiography indicated that perinatal or neonatal brain damage responsible for epilepsy might be organic in nature. The fact that epilepsy occurred later in many of cases of neonatal convulsions of unidentified etiology suggests that brain damage incurred during fetal life might also be implicated at least in some instances. The onset of epilepsy in this series was relatively early, invariably before three years of age.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.