Document Detail


Exacerbation of pre-existing epilepsy by mild head injury: a five patient series.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  15376487     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
OBJECTIVE: While the risk of developing seizures following a mild head injury has been reported and is thought to be low, the effect of mild head injury on patients with a pre-existing seizure disorder has not been reported. We present a series of cases where a strong temporal relationship between mild head injury and worsening of seizure frequency was observed. METHODS: Five cases were identified and reviewed in detail. Information was derived from clinic and hospital charts with attention to the degree of injury, pre- and postinjury seizure patterns and frequency. RESULTS: One patient has primary generalized epilepsy and four have localization related epilepsy. Prior to the head injury, three of the patients were seizure free (range: two to 24 years). The patients suffered from mild head injuries with no or transient loss of consciousness and no focal neurological deficits. In all cases, the patients experienced a worsening of seizure control within days of the injury. In one case, the patient's seizure pattern returned to baseline one year after the accident, while in the remaining four cases, the patients continue to have medically refractory seizures. CONCLUSIONS: A close temporal relationship between mild head injury and a worsening of seizure control was observed in five patients with epilepsy. Although further study is required, this observation suggests that a head injury that would be considered benign in the general population can have serious consequences such as recurrence of seizures and medical intractability in patients with epilepsy.
Authors:
P C Tai; D W Gross
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Publication Detail:
Type:  Case Reports; Journal Article    
Journal Detail:
Title:  The Canadian journal of neurological sciences. Le journal canadien des sciences neurologiques     Volume:  31     ISSN:  0317-1671     ISO Abbreviation:  Can J Neurol Sci     Publication Date:  2004 Aug 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2004-09-20     Completed Date:  2004-10-18     Revised Date:  2005-05-13    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  0415227     Medline TA:  Can J Neurol Sci     Country:  Canada    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  394-7     Citation Subset:  IM    
Affiliation:
Division of Neurology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Adult
Craniocerebral Trauma / complications*
Epilepsy / complications*,  physiopathology
Female
Humans
Male
Recurrence
Retrospective Studies
Severity of Illness Index
Comments/Corrections
Comment In:
Can J Neurol Sci. 2005 Feb;32(1):131; author reply 131   [PMID:  15825562 ]

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


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