[A boy with occipital lobe epilepsy showing prolonged QTc in the ictal ECG]

We report a 9-year-old boy with occipital lobe epilepsy who showed a prolonged QTc on the ictal electrocardiogram (ECG). He complained of sudden onset of blindness accompanied with vomiting and headache. Since ECG revealed a prolonged QTc, he was transferred to our pediatric emergency center. Occipital spike and slow wave complexes on the electroencephalogram (EEG) suggested the diagnosis of occipital lobe epilepsy. Administration of carbamazepine (190 mg) resulted in the disappearance of the blindness and abnormal waves on EEG. This is the first report to describe the occurrence of prolonged QTc during seizures of occipital lobe epilepsy. Because of the high risk of life-threatening ventricular arrhythmia induced by prolongation of QTc such as torsades de pointes, attention should be paid to the ECG findings in patients with occipital lobe epilepsy.