Is the first seizure truly epileptic?

Epilepsia. 2008:49 Suppl 1:2-7. doi: 10.1111/j.1528-1167.2008.01442.x.

Abstract

Transient loss of consciousness (T-LOC) with abnormal posture or movements reflects a temporary dysfunction of the brain, either primary or secondary. In a period of high technological medical access, patients with T-LOC constitute a challenge to improve the medical "art of listening." The difficulty in dealing with isolated paroxysmal phenomena is associated with the probability of the occurrence of a second event and therefore the entrance of the patient into a chronic disorder. We present a detailed analysis of symptoms that should help the general practitioner in the differential diagnosis among three main entities in the adult populations: syncope, epileptic seizure, and psychogenic seizure (dissociative convulsion).

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Child
  • Comorbidity
  • Diagnosis, Differential
  • Dissociative Disorders / diagnosis
  • Dissociative Disorders / epidemiology
  • Epilepsies, Myoclonic / diagnosis
  • Epilepsy / diagnosis*
  • Epilepsy / epidemiology
  • Epilepsy, Frontal Lobe / diagnosis
  • Epilepsy, Frontal Lobe / epidemiology
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Incidence
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • REM Sleep Behavior Disorder / diagnosis
  • REM Sleep Behavior Disorder / epidemiology
  • REM Sleep Parasomnias / diagnosis
  • REM Sleep Parasomnias / epidemiology
  • Somatoform Disorders / diagnosis
  • Somatoform Disorders / epidemiology
  • Syncope / diagnosis