Objective: The objective of this study was to analyze, from an aetiological angle, the cases seen with symptomatic epilepsy by the Seccion de Neuropaediatria del Hospital Miguel Servet de Zaragoza.
Patients and methods: We studied the cases diagnosed as having symptomatic epilepsy between May 1990 and November 1999.
Results: Of a total of 4,466 children assessed during the study period, the diagnosis of epilepsy was established in 461 children (10.3% of the total). This included idiopathic epilepsy in 110 cases (23.9%), cryptogenic epilepsy in 119 cases (25.8%) and symptomatic epilepsy in 232 cases (50.3%). The aetiologies of the symptomatic epilepsies were: prenatal encephalopathies in 137 cases (59%), perinatal encephalopathies in 33 (14.3%), postnatal encephalopathies (due to accidents, acquired infections and postnatal cerebrovascular accidents) in 20 (9%), tumours ( including the post-operative period) in 14 (6%), neurocutaneous syndromes in 13 (5.6%), metabolic and degenerative disorders in 13 (5.6%) and one case of vascular malformation.
Conclusions: The symptomatic epilepsies make up half the epilepsies evaluated by the department of neuropaediatrics. In 59% the cause was prenatal. Other causes of symptomatic epilepsy were also represented in the series. A detailed study of these should help us to understand and manage them better. We consider aetiological aspects to be very important in the study of epilepsy, since the aetiology is one of the most important factors in prognosis.