The difference between children and adults in the onset of post-traumatic epilepsy

In order to clarify the difference between children and adults in the onset of post-traumatic epilepsy, 96 outpatients of our clinic were investigated statistically. The subjects comprising 40 children and 56 adults were followed up for more than three years. The latency of the children i.e., the interval between a head injury and the onset of epilepsy, was longer than that of the adults. The 95%-confidential interval classified by age group indicated that the upper limits of latency of the group under the age of two, those between three and 14 and those aged more than 15 were about 13, six and three years, respectively. We concluded that children with a severe head injury should be followed up until age 20 and adults for about three years.