Neuroimaging in pediatric seizures

Abstract

Background: Accurate etiological diagnosis of seizures in children is important to begin an effective treatment. MRI is an excellent neuroimaging tool that is highly accurate. It helps in diagnosis, determining the treatment protocol and predicting the outcome. Dedicated studies in paediatric population using MRI brain have been even fewer till date in India. Current study aims to find the common etiology of pediatric seizures on MRI in a developing country like India.Methods: Hospital based retrospective study. 105 cases in age group between 0 months to 12 years. Seen between 2014 till date included in the study. All cases underwent MRI.Results: Most common imaging findings were inflammatory granuloma in 10 (9.5%). Other findings were- Hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) in 5 (4.7%), cerebral atrophy in 2 (1.9%), focal dysmyelination in 3 (2.8%), calcifying granuloma in 3 (2.8%) and periventricular leucomalacia in 2 (1.9%). Uncommon findings were that of lissencephaly, dysgenesis of corpus callosum, mesial temporal sclerosis, AV malformation, periventricular hemorrhage, schizencephaly, abscess and infarction in one child each (0.9% each). 69 children had no abnormal findings in brain.Conclusions: The commonest etiology of seizures is inflammatory granuloma. Early recognition of potentially treatable diseases helps in timely treatment and arrest of progression of disease. It is highly recommended to use MRI as primary investigation for seizures. Every effort should be made to provide facility of MRI for management of seizures in all parts of India.