To recognize epileptic spasms (ES) as a seizure type after traumatic brain injury (TBI), accidental or non-accidental, in infants and children. In the process, we aim to gain some insight into the mechanisms of epileptogenesis in ES. A retrospective electronic chart review was performed at the Children's Hospital of Michigan from 2002 to 2012. Electronic charts of 321 patients were reviewed for evidence of post-traumatic epilepsy. Various clinical variables were collected including age at TBI, mechanism of trauma, severity of brain injury, electroencephalography/neuroimaging data, and seizure semiology. Six (12.8%) of the 47 patients diagnosed with post-traumatic epilepsy (PTE) had ES. Epileptic spasms occurred between two months to two years after TBI. All patients with ES had multiple irritative zones, manifesting as multifocal epileptiform discharges, unilateral or bilateral. Cognitive delay and epileptic encephalopathy were seen in all six patients, five of whom were free of spasms after treatment with vigabatrin or adrenocorticotropic hormone. The risk of PTE is 47/321(14.6%) and the specific risk of ES after TBI is 6/321 (1.8%). The risk of ES appears to be high if the age at which severe TBI occurred was during infancy. Non-accidental head trauma is a risk factor of epileptic spasms. While posttraumatic epilepsy (not ES) may start 10 years after the head injury, ES starts within two years, according to our small cohort. The pathophysiology of ES is unknown, however, our data support a combination of previously proposed models in which the primary dysfunction is a focal or diffuse cortical abnormality, coupled with its abnormal interaction with the subcortical structures and brainstem at a critical maturation stage.
Keywords: electroencephalography; epileptic spasms (ES); post-traumatic epilepsy (PTE); seizure semiology; traumatic brain injury (TBI).