[Brain damage and epilepsy in childhood (author's transl)]

Among the 1100 patients with convulsive disorders attending out-patient paediatric clinics of the Universities of Vienna and Graz, there are 14 cases of postnatal posttraumatic epilepsy. The characteristic features of this condition, as evidenced even by this small group of patients are focal epilepsy with focal paroxysms in the EEG, often combined with neurological defects and psychological abnormalities, but more seldom with defects of intelligence; resistance to anticonvulsive drugs is a frequent observation. In a retrospective study such as this, the criteria which could predict the development of epilepsy following posttraumatic brain damage are not sufficiently accurately definable; prospective serial studies on brain-damaged children would be of greater prognostic value. The following parameters seem to be important: the kind of brain damage, the duration of unconsciousness, the frequency of initial convulsive attacks and the persistance of the progression of the EEG changes.