Psychogenic seizures: video telemetry observations in 27 patients

Pediatr Neurol. 1995 Jan;12(1):39-41. doi: 10.1016/0887-8994(94)00115-i.

Abstract

Psychogenic seizures are unusual during the first decade of life. To compare the clinical features of psychogenic seizures in young children with those of teenagers, the long-term electroencephalographic and video monitoring studies of all patients younger than 18 years of age with recorded episodes diagnosed as psychogenic seizures were reviewed from a single hospital during the past 7 years. The 27 patients were divided into 2 age groups: group A, 6-9 years (n = 5), and group B, 10-17 years (n = 22). All patients had habitual episodes recorded during monitoring. Although the adolescents displayed clinical patterns similar to adult patients with psychogenic seizures, the children demonstrated a clinical pattern characterized mainly by prolonged staring and unresponsiveness. The most common behaviors in the adolescent group were tremor (45%), intermittent stiffening (41%), and out-of-phase movements of the extremities (36%). Fifteen percent of the patients had a history of seizures. This study suggests that young children with psychogenic seizures have clinical profiles different from that of teenagers.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Age Factors
  • Autistic Disorder / diagnosis
  • Autistic Disorder / physiopathology
  • Autistic Disorder / psychology
  • Cerebral Cortex / physiopathology
  • Child
  • Diagnosis, Differential
  • Electroencephalography / instrumentation*
  • Epilepsy, Absence / diagnosis
  • Epilepsy, Absence / physiopathology
  • Epilepsy, Absence / psychology
  • Evoked Potentials / physiology
  • Female
  • Follow-Up Studies
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Monitoring, Physiologic / instrumentation*
  • Polysomnography / instrumentation
  • Psychophysiologic Disorders / diagnosis*
  • Psychophysiologic Disorders / physiopathology
  • Psychophysiologic Disorders / psychology
  • Seizures / diagnosis*
  • Seizures / physiopathology
  • Seizures / psychology
  • Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted / instrumentation
  • Telemetry / instrumentation*
  • Video Recording / instrumentation*