Abstracts

Recurrent unprovoked epileptic seizures are known to occur in children with cerebral palsy( CP) secondary to periventricular leukomalacia (PVL). However, it is not yet possible to accurately predict which PVL patients will develop epilepsy. Identifying demographic and clinical factors associated with presenting with epilepsy in this population is an important step toward developing an accurate predictive model. Of 218 children having CP patterns known to be associated with PVL, seen at the regional CP treatment centre on or before September 2000, 157 had radiologically proven PVL, 130 had CT+/- MRI studies available for the scoring of PVL severity and 41/157 were diagnosed with epilepsy. A binary logistic regression analysis was performed on those cases with complete data ( n=115) to identify factors associated with epilepsy. Clinical factors in the regression model were chosen for their strong univariate associations with epilepsy and included: PVL severity, degrees of motor and mental disability, cortical visual impairment, level of ambulation and a history of neonatal seizures. A history of neonatal seizures was significantly associated with having epilepsy, with an adjusted odds ratio of 5.2, 95% C.I. ( 1.5, 17.8). All other investigated factors, both clinical and demographic, were not statistically significant. Among patients with PVL, those who develop epilepsy are more likely to have experienced a neonatal seizure.