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Query: UMLS:C0036572 (seizures)
 80,221 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Gastro-oesophageal reflux (GOR) has been identified as a possible cause of SIDS. Several features of GOR unique to infants presenting with apparent life-threatening events (ALTEs) have led to its 'pathogenic' definition. One is that the life-threatening apnoea itself is initiated by GOR, another is that the ALTE relates to prolonged reflux during sleep, in a vulnerable sleep-state, and finally that the ALTE relates to excessive quantities of GOR. The presumption of GOR 'pathology' as a cause of SIDS however, is questionable in these susceptible infants for three reasons: firstly, GOR is physiological and occurs in most infants; secondly, there is no general consensus on what constitutes normal physiological reflux, and thirdly, variation in the recording technique and methods of data analysis and interpretation may account for the differences between study groups. It seems likely therefore if GOR is implicated in SIDS, additional factors are involved. Under certain circumstances, physiological GOR may trigger life-threatening apnoea in apparently healthy infants, that leads to SIDS. One mechanism that could explain such a death is reflex apnoea by stimulation of laryngeal chemoreceptors (LCR) during sleep. The conditions under which this could be fatal are the occurrence of gastric contents refluxed to the level of the pharynx during sleep, in the young infant who has depressed swallowing and arousal. That is, the occurrence of GOR to the level of the pharynx during sleep, an infrequent event that is usually innocuous, could be converted to a fatal event if swallowing is impaired and arousal depressed, by a variety of mediating factors such as prone sleeping, prematurity, sedatives, seizures or upper respiratory tract infections. The identification of LCR responses, particularly in prone sleeping and premature infants provide further evidence that this mechanism may be implicated in the aetiology of SIDS in apparently healthy infants.
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PMID:The role of gastro-oesophageal reflux in the aetiology of SIDS. 1099 49

Pregnancies in women with epilepsy are high risk and need careful management by both the medical and obstetric teams due to the increased incidence of complications and adverse outcomes of pregnancy. By the time a pregnant woman with epilepsy presents, the foetus is virtually fully formed and the opportunity for altering drug treatment has passed. Women need to be counselled and told to seek advice about their anticonvulsant therapy should they wish to become pregnant. All major anticonvulsant drugs are teratogenic but the main risk to the developing foetus appears to be when the mother is on polytherapy especially if sodium valproate forms part of the combination. Folate supplements (5 mg) before conception are advisable. There appears to be a minor but significant increased risk of maternal complications in women with epilepsy such as hyperemesis gravidarum, pre-eclampsia and eclampsia, vaginal bleeding and premature labour. In the majority of women seizure control will not alter during pregnancy. Oral vitamin K should be given to the mother receiving enzyme-inducing antiepileptic drugs. Post-natal infant development: there is an increased risk of prematurity (9-11%), stillbirth, neonatal and perinatal death, haemorrhagic disease of the newborn, low Apgar scores and low birth weight (7-10%). Breast feeding: virtually all the anticonvulsant drugs are excreted in breast milk in low concentrations. Feeding difficulties, irritability and lethargy can occur. However, the benefits of breast feeding usually far outweigh any minor risks to the baby.
Seizure 2001 Apr
PMID:CPD-Education and self-assessment: Epilepsy and pregnancy. 1143 22

Caffeine, which has a wide range between therapeutic and toxic levels, is a widely used medication for prevention and treatment of apnoea of prematurity. Despite its safety, caffeine overdose and intoxication has been previously reported in the literature. We present a 30-day-old 28-week preterm newborn who was exposed to 300 mg.kg-1 caffeine base by mouth accidentally. The patient exhibited agitations, irritability, tachycardia, tachypnoea, diuresis, electrolyte abnormalities, hyperglycaemia and metabolic acidosis, for which he received supportive treatment. No seizure activity was observed. The effects of intoxication lasted for 96 h and then completely resolved.
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PMID:Caffeine intoxication in a premature neonate. 1169 54

Pregnancies in women with epilepsy are high risk and need careful management by both the medical and obstetric teams due to the increased incidence of complications and adverse outcomes of pregnancy. By the time a pregnant woman with epilepsy presents, the foetus is virtually fully formed and the opportunity for altering drug treatment has passed. Women need to be counselled and told to seek advice about their anticonvulsant therapy should they wish to become pregnant. All major anticonvulsant drugs are teratogenic but the main risk to the developing foetus appears to be when the mother is on polytherapy especially if sodium valproate forms part of the combination. Folate supplements (5 mg) before conception are advisable. There appears to be a minor but significant increased risk of maternal complications in women with epilepsy such as hyperemesis gravidarum, pre-eclampsia and eclampsia, vaginal bleeding and premature labour. In the majority of women seizure control will not alter during pregnancy. Oral vitamin K should be given to the mother receiving enzyme-inducing antiepileptic drugs. POST-NATAL INFANT DEVELOPMENT: There is an increased risk of prematurity (9-11%), stillbirth, neonatal and perinatal death, haemorrhagic disease of the newborn, low Apgar scores and low birth weight (7-10%). BREAST FEEDING: Virtually all the anticonvulsant drugs are excreted in breast milk in low concentrations. Feeding difficulties, irritability and lethargy can occur. However, the benefits of breast feeding usually far outweigh any minor risks to the baby.
Seizure 2002 Apr
PMID:Epilepsy and pregnancy. 1218 59

We studied 81 children, mostly boys, who experienced language acquisition delay but whose audiometric thresholds were normal. We assessed the evolution of children with delayed maturation of auditory pathways by brainstem evoked response audiometry (BERA). We also used a questionnaire administered during diagnostic procedures to determine if there was a probable etiology in each patient. In addition, we further studied language evolution in 29 patients by means of a second questionnaire that was administered approximately 2 years later. Finally, we studied the evolution of the I-V interwave interval and the I/V amplitude ratio in 16 patients by performing a second BERA after a mean interval of 3 years. We observed improvement in both brainstem transmission time and language acquisition in all 81 patients. However, only a few patients achieved normal range results. Morphologic alterations, which were most common in patients who had had perinatal jaundice, remained unchanged. The most common possible risk factors for the delayed maturation pattern observed on BERA were parental consanguinity, prematurity, perinatal anoxia and jaundice, and postnatal seizure and infection. Some patients had more than one of these possible risk factors. We conclude that high-risk newborns and 2-year-old children who have no primitive verbal language skills should undergo BERA as well as investigation of hearing thresholds, interwave intervals, and I/V amplitude ratios. The alteration of the parameters points out the need for early intervention if there is no favorable prognosis.
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PMID:Delay in maturation of the auditory pathway and its relationship to language acquisition disorders. 1240 91

Pre-eclampsia (PE) is a pregnancy-specific syndrome that is a principal cause of maternal morbidity and mortality, accounting for almost 15% of pregnancy-associated deaths. It is also one of the major causes of iatrogenic prematurity among new born babies, placing a heavy burden on both prospective parents and on the health service. The mild form of PE most commonly presents with the features of maternal hypertension and proteinuria but can swiftly and unpredictably become severe with many extensive complications, which can involve the maternal liver, kidneys, lungs, blood and platelet coagulation and nervous systems. These clinical problems normally only become apparent in the second half of pregnancy but are believed to start during the first trimester. The diverse symptoms of PE have made it a difficult disease not only to define but also to identify a causative agent for the symptoms. It has therefore proved difficult to develop specific drugs that can be used to manage the condition in the clinic. Therapeutic intervention so far has been primarily aimed at combating the two main complications of PE - the hypertension and seizures. Current therapies are widely recognised as inadequate. This review examines the complex pathological mechanisms believed to be responsible for the multi-system complications of PE. It highlights current findings that exhibit the potential to target these effects with the aim of either preventing or altering the course of this life-threatening disease of pregnancy.
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PMID:Emerging molecular targets for the treatment of pre-eclampsia. 1254 Feb 73

Purpose. Women with epilepsy (WWE) reportedly have increased rates of pregnancy complications and poor fetal outcomes related to both their epilepsy and antiepileptic drugs (AEDs). These results influence decisions about conceiving. Most published studies evaluate WWE treated before 1990. We sought to better define risks to pregnant WWE at a tertiary care center, which used current epilepsy guidelines.Methods. We retrospectively analyzed 100 consecutive pregnancies in WWE from 1990 to 2000. Maternal data: epilepsy syndrome, duration, AEDs used, seizure occurrence and frequency, delivery type and complications. Fetal outcomes: fetal birth weight (FBW), gestational age, incidence of prematurity, major and minor congenital malformations, developmental delay.Results. Maternal factors: 37% generalized and 63% partial epilepsies, 59% seizure-free throughout pregnancy, 30% increased and 22% decreased seizure frequency, 90% used AEDs, 21% required polytherapy, 98% took folate, and 48% with gestational seizures delivered by cesarean section, compared with 18% without seizures (P < 0.01). Fetal outcome: Mean FBW and gestational ages similar regardless of AED usage or exposure to maternal seizures, 3.9% prematurity, no cases of still birth or neonatal hemorrhagic disorder, 1.1% of children exposed to AEDs had major congenital malformations, and 6.2% of offspring had pervasive developmental delay (PDD).Conclusions. All fetal outcomes were similar to outcomes for the general population, with the exception of higher rates of PDD and cesarean section. In our small sample of WWE treated with current epilepsy management, the majority had excellent outcomes. Future large studies must confirm this.
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PMID:Current Management of Epilepsy and Pregnancy: Fetal Outcome, Congenital Malformations, and Developmental Delay. 1260 94

A prospective study of the efficacy of seizure cessation by phenobarbital versus phenytoin administration utilized both clinical and electroencephalographic expressions of seizure behaviors. The phenomenon of uncoupling was defined as the persistence of electrographic seizures despite the suppression of >or=50% clinical seizures after either one or both antiepileptic drugs use. Fifty-nine neonates (25 to 43 weeks estimated gestational age) with electrically-confirmed seizures were assigned to either of two drugs and continuously monitored over a 24-hour period. Nine of the fifty-nine patients had only electrographic seizure expression both before and after drug administration. Of the remaining 50 patients who had both electrical and clinical seizure expression before treatment, 24 infants responded to the first choice of an antiepileptic drug with no further seizures. Fifteen of the remaining 26 infants (58%) with persistent seizures after treatment had uncoupling of electrical and clinical expressions of seizures; no difference in the uncoupling effect was noted for neonates who were treated with either antiepileptic drug or based on prematurity or gender. Serial electroencephalographic monitoring helps document continued electrographic seizure expression after antiepileptic drug use, following complete or partial suppression of clinical seizure behaviors.
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PMID:Uncoupling of EEG-clinical neonatal seizures after antiepileptic drug use. 1284 80

To evaluate the independent contribution of absent or reversed end-diastolic umbilical artery Doppler flow (AREDF) in the prediction of subsequent adverse neonatal outcomes, we performed Doppler examinations on 270 preeclamptic women with a singleton pregnancy. The end-point variables were low Apgar scores and adverse neonatal outcomes (respiratory distress syndrome, intracranial hemorrhage, sepsis, seizures, jaundice, hypoglycemia, hypocalcemia, thrombocytopenia, polycythemia, and neonatal mortality). Stepwise logistic regression was used to control for gestational age, oligohydramnios, and fetal growth restriction. Infants with AREDF had an increased frequency of hypoglycemia (odds ratio=1.7) and polycythemia (odds ratio=1.7), whereas the remaining neonatal outcomes were explained by gestational age and growth restriction. Therefore, live-born infants of preeclamptic patients with AREDF velocities, independent of prematurity and growth restriction, are prone to hypoglycemia and polycythemia.
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PMID:Prediction of adverse neonatal outcomes in preeclampsia by absent or reversed end-diastolic flow velocity in the umbilical artery. 1469 43

The National Neonatal Perinatal Database (NNPD) network is a collaborative group of leading neonatal units in India involved in the prospective collection of morbidity and mortality data on uniform protocols. The present article reports the morbidity and mortality profile of outborn neonates in the year 2000. Ten centers provided data on outborn neonates. The data were analysed at the nodal center using Epi-Info statistical software version 6 and Excel 97. A total of 3831 neonates were admitted at the participating institutions. A majority of them (87.2 per cent) were delivered in nursing homes and small hospitals. Most of the admissions (68.7 per cent) were male. Nearly half of them (48.7 per cent) were low birthweight and one-third (32.1 per cent) were preterm. Overall mortality was 16.4 per cent, while 7.5 per cent left hospitals against medical advice. Nearly half of all neonatal deaths occurred within the first 48 h following admission. Common primary causes of deaths (n = 630) included: infections (36.0 per cent), prematurity related conditions (26.5 per cent), perinatal hypoxia (10.0 per cent), and malformations (7.8 per cent). Systemic infections (28.4 per cent), hyperbilirubinemia (27.9 per cent), seizures (11.7 per cent), hypoglycemia (11.5 per cent), hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (8.3 per cent), anemia (8.9 per cent), and hypocalcemia (8.6 per cent) were common morbidities observed. Of systemic infections, 39.2 per cent were culture positive and 51.4 per cent were early onset (< 72 h). Sick babies were managed with antibiotics (75 per cent), oxygen administration (45.3 per cent), phototherapy (34.9 per cent), and assisted ventilation (16.3 per cent). In conclusion, the present study describes the morbidity and mortality profile of a large multicentric cohort of outborn neonates from a developing country.
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PMID:Morbidity and mortality among outborn neonates at 10 tertiary care institutions in India during the year 2000. 1523 94


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