Seizures and civilian head injuries

Although several studies have reported on the risk of "early seizures" (seizures occurring within 7 days following a head injury), the reported proportions of patients experiencing these seizures vary from 1.4 to 15%. This wide divergence may be due to problems with methodology such as case selection and definitions of head injury and early seizures. In a series of 702 patients admitted with a head injury to Cook County Hospital (CCH), Chicago, Illinois, 29 (4.1%) had early seizures. This proportion is twice as high as one previously reported in a comparable series. This may reflect an actual difference between the two series or a case selection bias serving to elevate the proportion of patients with early seizures at CCH.