Authors :
Presenting Author: Sofía Sánchez-Boluarte, MD – Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Neurológicas
wilfor Aguirre-quispe, MD – Universidad Científica del Sur; Jhon Tacunan-Cuellar, MD – Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Neurológicas; maría Alfaro-Olivera, MD – Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Neurológicas; denisse Chacón, MD – Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Neurológicas; Liza Nuñez Del Prado, MD – Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Neurológicas; Cesar Caparó, MD – Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Neurológicas; Walter De La Cruz, MD – Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Neurológicas
Rationale: Acute symptomatic seizures are frequently described in patients with autoimmune encephalitis. The presence of epilepsy and the associated factors of its presence are not clearly described. This study aims to determine the frequency and describe clinical and diagnostic characteristics of patients with acute symptomatic seizures and epilepsy in patients with autoimmune encephalitis.
Methods: A single-center retrospective cohort study of patients with autoimmune encephalitis were evaluated at the "Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Neurológicas," Lima, Perú, between 2018 and 2023. Clinical, neurophysiological and imaging findings were analyzed according to the status of epilepsy.
Results: A total of 61 patients (41(67.21%) males) were included. A total of 46 (75.41%) patients had seizures, and 19 (41.30%) developed epilepsy on the follow-up. A total of 42 (68.85%) had focal seizures, and 6 (9.84) had bilateral tonic clonic seizures without a clear focal onset. A total of 13 (21.31%) had status epilepticus during the admission.
Conclusions: This is the first and the largest report of patients with autoimmune-associated epilepsy in Perú. The presence of epilepsy is frequent in patients with autoimmune encephalitis.
Funding: We did not received any funding.