Abstracts

Rationale: Hydrocephalus after intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is a common and treatable complication. However, the long-term outcomes and factors that may be used to predict hydrocephalus have seldom been studied. Therefore, the present study examines the role of hydrocephalus in children with epilepsy in Saudi Arabia.

Methods: This observational retrospective study was conducted in the pediatric neurology clinic at a tertiary care epilepsy center. Twenty-six hydrocephalus patients with epilepsy were enrolled. The following variables were analyzed: character of seizures, age at seizure onset, use of antiepileptic medications, controllability of seizures, developmental outcomes at long-term follow-up (intellectual and motor), coincidence of shunting system insertion with seizure onset, and focal EEG changes.

Results: Of the 26 patients, 16 (61.5%) were males. More than half of the patients (n=14, 58.4%) presented with normal EEGs; the EEG was abnormal for 46.4% (n=12). Eleven patients (42.3%) had congenital hydrocephalus; the rest had acquired hydrocephalus (n=15, 57.6%). Ten patients (38.5%) had experienced only one seizure; three (11.5%) had seizures one to four times a month, and one (3.8%) experienced two to four seizures a day. The majority of patients were diagnosed with hydrocephalus between infancy and two years of age (n=16, 61.5%). A large proportion of the patients (84.6%) had undergone a shunt insertion. Sixteen patients (61.5%) had developmental delays.

Conclusions: The present study examines the role of hydrocephalus in children with epilepsy at a single center in Saudi Arabia. Additional research with a larger cohort is warranted to confirm these findings.

Funding: None