Neonatal seizures: Aetiology by means of a standardized work-up

Annemiek M. W. Loman, Henk J. ter Horst, Florise A. C. P. Lambrechtsen, Roelineke J. Lunsing*

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

    21 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Neonatal seizures are an alarming symptom and are frequent in neonates. It is important to find the cause of neonatal seizures to start a specific treatment and to give a meaningful prognosis. The aim of this study is to investigate the incidence of different aetiologies of neonatal seizures in our hospital by a specific work-up.

    Methods: All full-term born neonates from January 2002 till September 2009 with neonatal seizures, admitted to our neonatal intensive care unit were included (n = 221). Aetiology was investigated by means of a standardized aetiologic work-up.

    Results: The frequencies of aetiologies of neonatal seizures were: hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) (n = 119; 53.9%), metabolic or electrolyte disorders (n = 24; 10.9%), intracranial hemorrhage (n = 20; 9.0%), ischemic infarction (n = 16; 7.2%), intracranial infections (n = 14; 6.3%), congenital malformations of the central nervous system (n = 7; 3.2%), inborn errors of metabolism (n = 5; 2.3%), epileptic syndromes (n = 1; 0.5%), HIE + hypoglycemia (n = 4; 1.8%), HIE + intracranial hemorrhage (n = 3; 1.4%), HIE + ischemic infarction (n = 1; 0.5%), ischemic infarction + intracranial hemorrhage (n = 1; 0.5%), idiopathic (n = 4, 1.8%), intoxications (n = 1; 0.5%) and unknown (n = 1; 0.5%).

    Conclusion: Our work-up is a practical tool to find the aetiology of neonatal seizures. (C) 2014 European Paediatric Neurology Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)360-367
    Number of pages8
    JournalEuropean Journal of Paediatric Neurology
    Volume18
    Issue number3
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - May-2014

    Keywords

    • Neonatal seizures
    • Aetiology
    • Work-up
    • HYPOXIC-ISCHEMIC ENCEPHALOPATHY
    • SLEEP MYOCLONUS
    • FOLLOW-UP
    • EPILEPSY
    • CLASSIFICATION
    • HYPOTHERMIA
    • DIAGNOSIS
    • NEWBORNS
    • INFANTS
    • STATES

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