Premium
Is the first seizure truly epileptic?
Author(s) -
Perrig Stephen,
Jallon Pierre
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
epilepsia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.687
H-Index - 191
eISSN - 1528-1167
pISSN - 0013-9580
DOI - 10.1111/j.1528-1167.2008.01442.x
Subject(s) - psychogenic disease , epileptic seizure , psychology , convulsion , epilepsy , consciousness , dissociative , psychiatry , active listening , differential diagnosis , partial seizures , medicine , pediatrics , audiology , neuroscience , psychotherapist , pathology
SummaryTransient loss of consciousness (T‐LOC) with abnormal posture or movements reflects a temporary dysfunction of the brain, either primary or secondary. In a period of high technological medical access, patients with T‐LOC constitute a challenge to improve the medical “art of listening.” The difficulty in dealing with isolated paroxysmal phenomena is associated with the probability of the occurrence of a second event and therefore the entrance of the patient into a chronic disorder. We present a detailed analysis of symptoms that should help the general practitioner in the differential diagnosis among three main entities in the adult populations: syncope, epileptic seizure, and psychogenic seizure (dissociative convulsion).