AP-7 Clinical Profile and Short-Term Outcome of Neonatal and Early-Onset Epilepsies in South Indian Children: Experience from a Prospective Cohort

Objective: We evaluated the clinical characteristics and short-term outcome of a prospective cohort of early infantile onset epilepsies attending a tertiary care pediatric epilepsy center in South India.

Methods: Consecutive infants less than 3 months of age who presented with seizures were enrolled into the study between June 2020 and September 2021. Infants with acute symptomatic seizures were excluded. All infants were followed up for a minimum period of 6 months. Developmental and epilepsy outcomes were assessed at the last follow-up.

Results: Among 86 consecutive infants, 58 with acute symptomatic seizures were excluded. Male: female ratio was 8:20. Median age at seizure onset was 30 days (range: 2–83 days). 15 had seizure onset in the neonatal period. 7 had lesional epilepsies—FCD with tuberous sclerosis (2), complex cerebral malformations (3), cystic encephalomalacia (2). 18/28 underwent genetic analysis. 7 had damaging variations. Variations detected were KCNT1 (1), KCNQ2 (1), SCN1A (1), CDKL5 (1), UGP2 (1), MOSC2 (1), and 1p36 deletion. 8/18 were variants of uncertain significance (KCNT1, KCNQ2, TUBA3D, PACS2, BCKDHB, RKT1, ATP1A3, chromosome 20 microdeletion). Follow-up period ranged from 6 to 19 months. Mean age at the last follow-up was 11.4 months; 2 expired. At the last follow-up, 5 had attained seizure remission, 17 were on more than 3 antiseizure medication (range: 1–6). 18 had significant neurodevelopmental delay.

Conclusion: This study reports the profile of early-onset epilepsies in South Indian children. Multicentric collaborative efforts are needed to further characterize the distribution of complex early-onset epilepsies across populations.

Publication History

Article published online:
12 September 2024