Prevalence of epilepsy and seizure disorders as causes of apparent life- threatening event (ALTE) in children admitted to a tertiary hospital

Arquivos de Neuro-Psiquiatria

Alessandra Marques Dos Anjos¹  Magda Lahorgue Nunes¹ 

[1] ,Hospital São Lucas Clinical Neurophysiology Laboratory

关键词: ALTE;    sudden infant death syndrome;    epilepsy;    ALTE;    síndrome da morte súbita do lactente;    epilepsia;   

DOI  :  10.1590/S0004-282X2009000400008

来源: SciELO

【 摘 要 】

OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence and describe clinical characteristics of seizure disorders and epilepsy as causes of apparent life- threatening event (ALTE) in children admitted at the emergency and followed in a tertiary hospital. METHOD: Cross-sectional study with prospective data collection using specific guidelines to determine the etiology of ALTE. RESULTS: During the study, 30 (4.2%) children admitted to the hospital had a diagnosis of ALTE. There was a predominance of males (73%) and term infants (70%). Neonatal neurological disorders and neuropsychomotor development delay were found respectively in 13.4% and 10% of the cases. Etiological investigation revealed that 50% of the cases were idiopathic, and 13.4% were caused by epilepsy or seizure disorders. Although all patients had recurrent ALTE events, epilepsy had not been previously suspected. CONCLUSION: Epilepsy should be included in the differential diagnosis of ALTE, particularly when events are recurrent.

【 授权许可】

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