Risk Factors of Intractable Epilepsy in Children with Cerebral Palsy

We aimed to investigate the risk factors predicting the development of intractable epilepsy in children with cerebral palsy (CP), with an emphasis on perinatal characteristics, seizure semiology, imaging, and EEG findings.

Following a descriptive, retrospective, case-control design, 106 children with CP and epilepsy from 2015 to 2020 were studied (46 children with CP and intractable epilepsy and 60 with CP and controlled epilepsy). Data were retrieved from medical records of participants (i.e., demographics, clinical characteristics, perinatal history, etiology of seizure and CP, seizure semiology, intellectual functions, therapeutic options, brain imaging, and EEG findings).

We established a model of the most important risk factors that can predict intractable epilepsy in children with CP. The model included the additive effect of a poor Apgar score at 5 minutes, the presence of neonatal seizures, focal epilepsy, and focal slowing on the EEG background (Area under the receiver operating characteristic of 0.810).

The findings can be used to identify intractable epilepsy in children who suffer from CP with further support by offering early therapeutic interventions intended to reduce the burden of refractory seizures.