Mortality in children with severe epilepsy: 10 years of follow-up

• Autor(a) principal: Terra, Vera Cristina
• Data de Publicação: 2011
• Outros Autores: Scorza, Fulvio Alexandre [UNIFESP], Arida, Ricardo Mario [UNIFESP], Fernandes, Regina Maria França, Wichert-Ana, Lauro, Machado, Helio Rubens, Sakamoto, Américo Ceiki [UNIFESP]
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Institucional da UNIFESP
• Texto Completo: http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0004-282X2011000600008; http://repositorio.unifesp.br/handle/11600/6674
• topic: epilepsy; mortality; sudden death; Children; epilepsia; mortalidade; morte súbita; Crianças

Epilepsy is the main neurological condition in children and adolescents. Unfortunately patients with medical refractory epilepsy are more susceptible for clinical complications and death. We report a prospectively evaluated cohort of children followed for approximately 10 years. Fifty-three of 1012 patients died. Forty-two patients died due to epilepsy or its clinical complications and the main causes of death were pneumonia (in 16 cases), sepses (in 9 patients), status epilepticus (in 8 patients). In 11 patients cause of death was sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP). Mental retardation was significantly more frequent in patients who did not die from SUDEP. SUDEP may be a significant condition associated with mortality in children and adolescents with epilepsy.