Pseudoepileptic seizures in children and adolescents

Eighteen patients ranging in age from 4 to 20 years who were seen at the Mayo Clinic from 1970 through 1976 for suspected epilepsy were studied. Seventeen of these patients had previously been treated with anticonvulsant medication, and the majority had been subjected to multiple diagnostic procedures. After careful analysis of their histories, clinical examinations, and appropriate laboratory studies, their seizures appeared to be nonepileptic in nature. Various psychogenic and other nonorganic causes were identified. These cases are presented to alert the physician to the not infrequent occurrence of pseudoepileptic seizures in children and adolescents who do not have epilepsy.