[Epilepsy in children in Navarre]

To estimate the annual incidence rate of epilepsy, as well as the relative distribution of the different epilepsies and epileptic syndromes in children.

All incident cases of children living in Navarre below 15 years of age with a newly diagnosed epilepsy (years 2003 through 2005) have been registered in a prospective study. Epidemiological and clinical data and complementary studies were collected. ILAE guidelines for epidemiological studies were applied.

One hundred and forty two patients were diagnosed with child epilepsy (18 infants, 47 early children, 39 school children and 38 adolescents). The annual incidence rate was 62.1 cases per 100.000 (95% CI: 61.6-62.6), with a highest incidence rate during the first year of life (103.9 per 100.000). Fifty seven percent of the patients presented focal epilepsies, 41.5% generalized and 1.4% undetermined. In infants, West syndrome (44.4%), epilepsies associated to specific syndromes (27.7%) and focal symptomatic (11.1%) were the most prevalent epileptic syndromes. In early childhood, the main syndromes were focal symptomatic (21.3%) or cryptogenic epilepsies (25.5%). In schoolchildren, focal idiopathic (25.6%) and cryptogenic epilepsies (20.5%). And, in adolescents, focal cryptogenic (21.1%) and idiopathic epilepsies (18.4%).

The annual incidence rate of child epilepsy in Navarre shows a similar rate as described for other western countries, with the highest incidence rate during the first year of life, diminishing gradually until adolescence. Published data concerning relative frequency of epilepsy and epileptic syndromes are quite discordant. The difficulties in establishing a syndromic diagnosis require the application of uniform criteria in order to obtain valid and comparable epidemiological information.