Researchers reported at the Child Neurology Society annual meeting that one-third of children diagnosed with psychogenic non-epileptic seizures achieve symptom remission within six months of diagnosis, which is sustained for at least two years.
One-third of children diagnosed with psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES) achieve symptom remission within six months of diagnosis, which is sustained for at least two years, according to a retrospective analysis presented at the Child Neurology Society annual meeting in National Harbor, MD.
However, patients with comorbid epilepsy and prolonged duration of symptoms prior to diagnosis were less likely to achieve remission at two years, the researchers reported.
“There is very little literature on the prognosis of PNES in children, making it difficult to counsel families regarding the outcome once diagnosis is established,” study author Rajkumar L. Agarwal, MD, an assistant professor of pediatrics and neurology at the Children’s Hospital of Michigan in Detroit, who was an epilepsy fellow at Case Western at the time of the study, told Neurology Today. The principal investigator was Ashok K. Yadav, MD, also a fellow at Case Western at the time.
“It is noteworthy that when patients respond early in the course of management of PNES, the long-term prognosis is much better,” Dr. Agarwal said. “Hence those patients who continue to have recurrent events even after a few months of diagnosis may need more aggressive intervention and close follow-up with a psychiatrist and neurologist.”
Source: Neurology Today
