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Benign seizures associated with mild diarrhea: clinical analysis of 20 cases
Insights
Mild diarrhea can cause benign seizures in children, even without fever or dehydration. These seizures typically resolve quickly and do not lead to long-term neurological issues like epilepsy.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Neurology
Background:
- Seizures can occur in children with mild diarrhea, even in the absence of electrolyte imbalance, dehydration, or fever.
- Previous observations suggest a favorable long-term outcome for such patients.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the clinical characteristics and long-term outcomes of benign seizures associated with mild diarrhea in pediatric patients.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective review of 20 pediatric cases diagnosed with benign seizure and mild diarrhea between January 1987 and March 1991.
- Analysis of patient demographics, seizure characteristics, diagnostic tests (Rotazyme), and follow-up data.
Main Results:
- The study included 10 boys and 10 girls, with onset between 3 and 43 months (mean 19 months).
- Most cases occurred in winter months (December-March). Seizures were typically generalized, symmetric, short-lived (≤5 minutes), and occurred 2-5 times.
- Rotazyme testing was positive in 54.5% of cases. No patients developed epilepsy, and all showed normal psychomotor development during 6 months to 4 years of follow-up.
Conclusions:
- Benign seizures associated with mild diarrhea in children are a distinct clinical entity.
- These seizures have a favorable prognosis, with no long-term neurological sequelae observed.
Abstract:
Even without electrolyte imbalance, dehydration and fever, seizures are found occasionally in the cases of mild diarrhea. Such patients have shown favorable outcome during long-term follow-up. Twenty cases (10 boys and 10 girls) of benign seizure with mild diarrhea have been diagnosed at the Pediatric Department of Cathay General Hospital from January 1987 to March 1991. Ages-of-onset ranged from 3 months to 43 months (mean 19 months). Most cases were found between December and March (16 cases, 80%). Most seizure episodes were from 2 to 5 times (10 cases, 50%); the durations of seizures were mostly within a 5-minute period (16 cases, 80%). All seizures were generalized and symmetric, including tonic-clonic (13 cases, 65%), tonic (5 cases, 25%), and clonic (2 cases, 10%). Six out of 11 cases (54.5%) showed Rotazyme (Latex agglutination) positive. After six month to four year follow up, no patient had suffered any type of epilepsy, and psychomotor development was normal in all. Further discussion of clinical features is provided.