J Korean Soc Neonatol.
2009 May;16(1):1-9.
Detection and Diagnosis of Neonatal Seizures
- Affiliations
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- 1Department of Pediatrics, Korea University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. bleun@korea.ac.kr, bleun@chollian.net
Abstract
- Seizures are the most common clinical manifestation of a neurologic insult during the neonatal period. Neonatal seizures continue to present a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge to pediatricians because the recognition and classification of neonatal seizures remains problematic, particularly when clinicians rely only on clinical criteria. Neonatal seizures can permanently disrupt neuronal development, induce synaptic reorganization, alter plasticity, and "prime" the brain to increased damage from seizures later in life. Since neonatal seizures, particularly status epilepticus, predict an increased risk for later epilepsy and other neurologic sequelae, accurate diagnoses are needed for aggressive antiepileptic drug use. The present review summarizes the pathophysiology, etiology, and diagnosis of neonatal seizures.
