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[Benign infantile convulsions with mild gastroenteritis: clinical analysis of 40 cases]

Tie-Shuan Huang1, Xin-Guo Lu, Bing Li

  • 1Shenzhen Children's Hospital, Shenzhen, Guangdong 518026, China.

Zhongguo Dang Dai Er Ke Za Zhi = Chinese Journal of Contemporary Pediatrics
|July 20, 2010
PubMed

Insights

Benign infantile convulsions with mild gastroenteritis (BICG) present with mild digestive symptoms and clustered seizures. Conventional phenobarbital doses are ineffective for seizure prevention, but most children achieve a good prognosis.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Neurology
  • Infectious Diseases
  • Gastroenterology

Context:

  • Benign infantile convulsions with mild gastroenteritis (BICG) is a specific epilepsy syndrome in infants.
  • Gastrointestinal symptoms often precede or accompany seizures in young children.
  • The underlying mechanisms linking gastroenteritis and seizures require further elucidation.

Purpose:

  • To investigate the pathogenesis, clinical characteristics, and treatment of benign infantile convulsions with mild gastroenteritis (BICG).
  • To identify potential infectious agents and assess neurological outcomes in affected children.

Summary:

  • Forty children with BICG were studied, exhibiting mild gastroenteritis and clustered convulsions.
  • Laboratory tests revealed rotavirus or calicivirus in stool samples of some children, but not in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).
  • Phenobarbital prophylaxis was ineffective in preventing seizure recurrence, though most children had favorable neurological outcomes at 6-month follow-up.

Impact:

  • Highlights the mild nature of gastrointestinal symptoms in BICG.
  • Demonstrates the limited efficacy of phenobarbital in preventing recurrent seizures.
  • Suggests a generally good prognosis for children diagnosed with BICG, despite seizure activity.
Abstract

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