Clinical Analysis Of Subclinical Epileptiform Discharges In Children With Cerebral Palsy

Objectives To investigate the clinical features and the related risk factors of subclinical epileptiform discharges in children with cerebral palsy.Methods It was a clinical study with the patients came from the special hospital.Total number of 279 children with cerebral palsy treated in Qingdao Rehabilatation Center For Disabled Children from January 2004 to December 2007 were recruited.Their medical histories,electronic encephalograms(EEG),imaging findings and cognitive levels were used to evaluate the incidence and the EEG manifestations of subclinical epileptiform discharges in different types of cerebral palsy.Relationship between subclinical epileptiform discharges and cognitive level,imaging abnormality,neonatal seizure history, gestational age and complications were analyzed with logistic stepwise regression.Results The overall incidence of subclinical epileptiform discharges in cerebral palsy was 18.64%(52/279),with the highest in spastic hemiplegia(36.36%)and the lowest in tetraplegia(6.25%).The focal and multifocal epileptiform discharges were the majority in all types of cerebral palsy.There was no statistical significence between focal and general epileptiform discharges in different development quotion or intelligence quotion levels.The cortex impairment and other complications were risk factors related to subclinical epileptiform discharges in cerebral palsy,while cognitive level,neonatal seizure history and gestational age were not.Conclusions Subclinical epileptiform discharges,with the major pattern of focal and multifocal,is common in children with cerebral palsy,especially in hemiplegia type.The existence of brain cortex impairment and other complications may have predictive value of subclinical epileptiform discharges in cerebral palsy.