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Convulsions following birth asphyxia/birth trauma — are long‐term anticonvulsants necessary?
Author(s) -
GILLAM GEOFFREY L.
Publication year - 1982
Publication title -
journal of paediatrics and child health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.631
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1440-1754
pISSN - 1034-4810
DOI - 10.1111/j.1440-1754.1982.tb01997.x
Subject(s) - medicine , pediatrics , convulsion , asphyxia , febrile convulsions , anticonvulsant , perinatal asphyxia , full term , anesthesia , epilepsy , pregnancy , psychiatry , biology , genetics
. A retrospective study of case notes was undertaken at the Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne, over a five‐year period 1974–1978 inclusive, to determine the need for long term anticonvulsant medication for infants who had convulsions in the neonatal period following birth asphyxia and/or trauma. Anticonvulsants were generally ceased before discharge from hospital. Of 38 infants available for follow up, 30 had no recurrence of convulsions by 12 months of age. Of the remaining 8 infants, one had a febrile convulsion, one infant remained on treatment because of a family history of convulsions and later convulsed with fever, one infant who convulsed at six weeks of age and five infants with major neurological sequelae who convulsed beyond the neonatal period, were recommenced on anticonvulsants. Twenty seven of the 38 infants were developmentally normal, and 11/30 had major neurological sequelae (five of these 11 had subsequent convulsions). If an infant ceases convulsing, and is behaving normally at discharge, long term anticonvulsants are not necessary.