Journal of the Korean Society of Neonatology  2009;16(1):1-9

Detection and Diagnosis of Neonatal Seizures.

Baik Lin EUN 1

Affiliations

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Keywords

Newborn; Seizures; Electroencephalography

Country

Republic of Korea

Language

Korean

Abstract

Seizures are the most common clinical manifestation of a neurologic insult during the neonatal period. Neonatal seizures continue to present a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge to pediatricians because the recognition and classification of neonatal seizures remains problematic, particularly when clinicians rely only on clinical criteria. Neonatal seizures can permanently disrupt neuronal development, induce synaptic reorganization, alter plasticity, and "prime" the brain to increased damage from seizures later in life. Since neonatal seizures, particularly status epilepticus, predict an increased risk for later epilepsy and other neurologic sequelae, accurate diagnoses are needed for aggressive antiepileptic drug use. The present review summarizes the pathophysiology, etiology, and diagnosis of neonatal seizures.