Introduction: Epilepsy in two first years of life needs constant attention due to diagnostic and therapeutic difficulties.
Aim: The aim of the study was to identify cause of symptomatic epilepsy in two first years of life children from miopolskie and podkarpackie provinces hospitalized in Pediatric Neurology Clinic of Children and Adolescents Neurology Cathedra UJ in Cracow.
Material and methods: 102 children with epilepsy aged from 1 week to 24 months hospitalized between 1st of January 2006 and 31st of December 2007. The group included 47 girls and 55 boys. On the basis of clinical characteristics and results of additional examinations idiopathic epilepsy was diagnosed in 16/102 (13.3%) children and in remaining 86 (87.7%) symtopmatic epilepsy was established. Perinatal burdening was cause of epilepsy in 31/86 (33.72%) children. Other causes were identified in 32/54 children (59.3%) and in remaining 231 54 (40.7%) children the cause was not established. In 3/32 epilepsy occured in the course of hydrocephalus and in 3/32 children as one of CNS inflammation complications. Epilepsy as a result of vascular lesions and bleeding to CNS occured in 4 children. Multiple developmental deffects syndrome was diagnosed in 4 children and in 11 specific neurodevelopmental disorders were the cause of epilepsy. In 6 children epilepsy occured in the course of neurometabolic diseases, neurocutaneous syndromes and neoplasms. In children in two first years of life polimorphic seizures were diagnosed the most often (32/86 that is 37.2%) and tonic, tonic-clonic seizures were less often (21/86 that is 24.43%). Focal seizures occured in 20/86 (23.26%) patients, in 4/86 (4.65%) mioclonic jerks were observed and infantile spasms in 9/86 (10.46%).
Conclusions: (1) In most hospitalized children in two first years of life symptomatic epilepsy was diagnosed. (2) Epilepsy in two first years of life was more often in boys. (3) The most often cause of symptomatic epilepsy was pathology of perinatal period. (4) Polymorphic seizures were the most often manifestation of early childhood epilepsy.