[Characteristics of the children with epilepsy followed in the Marrakech University Hospital]

Epilepsy is one of the most frequent neurological diseases in the pediatric population. Many epidemiological studies have been published, but with rather discordant results, because of methodological differences. In our context, epilepsy constitutes a public health problem. National epidemiological data are scarce.

To describe the characteristics of children with epilepsy, to analyze the risk factors and to assess the impact of the disease on schooling.

This was a retrospective study concerning 592 children attending the Mohammed VI university hospital center pediatric unit A outpatient clinic for epilepsy from August 2003 to December 2007.

Epileptic syndromes were classified according to the criteria of the International League Against Epilepsy of 1989. Prevalence of epilepsy was 8.5%. Average age was 6 years 7 months. Age of seizure onset ranged from 2 months to 14 years. Male gender predominated. Antecedents were dominated by peri- and neonatal complications. Parental consanguinity and a family history of epilepsy were found in 19.2 and 11.6% of cases, respectively. Schooling was perturbed in more than one-third of the school-age children. Generalized seizures were most common (70.5%). Association with cerebral palsy was present in 18.6% of cases, with mental retardation in 4.7%. The epilepsy was idiopathic for 41% of the children, symptomatic for 39% and cryptogenic for 20%. Generalized epileptic syndromes were the most frequent, epilepsy absence (12%), Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (6%), West syndrome (5.5%) and myoclonic epilepsy (4%). The most common partial epileptic idiopathic syndrome was benign childhood epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes. Single-drug therapy was the rule for first intention treatment (96.8%). Sodium valproate was the antiepileptic drug most widely used (82%). Treatment led to resolution of the seizures in 76% of the children.

Preventive measures should be reinforced in our context with a considerable proportion of children presenting neonatal risk factors. Efforts should be made to improve schooling for children with epilepsy.