All issues > Volume 23(11); 1980

Original Article

J Korean Pediatr Soc. 1980;23(11):917-926. Published online November 15, 1980.

Clinical Observation of Convulsions in Infancy and Childhood.

H S Jeon¹, Y S Shin¹, M J Shin¹, S C Kang²

¹Department of pediatrics, Seoul Red Cross Hospital, Seoul, Korea.
²Department of Pediatric, College of Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Korea.

Abstract

To assess convulsive disorders in infancy and childhood we have studied clinically about 303 cases who were admitted as convulsions at the Pediatric department of S.R.C.H. from Jun. 1975 to May 1979. These cases were analysed by the route of admission, monthly distribution, age and sex distributions and causes, and also more detailed evaluation for febrile convulsion and epilepsy was done. The results obtained were as follows: 1) Total number of convulsive inpatients during 4 years was 303,of which 173 were male 130 were female and the ratio was l.3: 1. 2) Convulsion was most frequent in children from 6 months to 3 years(43.3%) and was least in newborn from birth to I month(3. 3%). 3) The most common cause of convulsions was febrile convulsion(44. 6%) and the next was epilepsy(30.5%). In each age group birth injury was most common in newborn from birth to 1 month, febrile convulsion in children from 1 month to 6 months and 6 months to 3 years and epilepsy in children from 3 years to 10 years and 10 years to 16 years. 4) Febrile convulsion had the highest incidence in children from 6 months to 3 years (65.2%), and male to female ratio was 1.8: I and past and family history, 27.4% and 8. 2% respectively. The common causes of fever in febrile convulsion were U.R.I., acute pharyngotonsillitis, acute colitis(not specified), shigellosis, acute gastroenteritis and so on. 5) Epilepsy had most frequent in children from 3 years to 10 years(65.2%) and male to female ratio was 1.1: 1, past & family history, 46.7% and 8.6% respectively and the risk for epileptiform seizure after febrile convulsion, 2.2%. The most common cause of epileptic seizure was head trauma(6.8%) and idiopathic in 85.8%. 6) The incidence of abnormal EEG finding within a week of seizure was 14.8% in febrile convulsion and 87.0% in epilepsy. 7) The types of epileptic seizure were Grand mal (46.7%), focal seizure(39.1%), infantile spasm (8.7%), myoclonic and akinetic seizure (3.3%), petit mal (1.1%) and psychomotor seizure (1.1%).

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