Introduction:

Epilepsy in pediatrics is most common before 5 years of age.

Objective:

To describe the perinatal history of patients under 6 years of age diagnosed with epilepsy.

Materials and methods:

This was an ambispective study performed from January to November 2022. Using the Pediatric Neurology Service patient database and telephone interviews with parents, we included a sample of consecutive cases. Incomplete records and the impossibility of communication with parents were exclusion criteria. Variables: demographic data, maternal history, neonatal history and family history of epilepsy, type of epilepsy and associated comorbidities. The data were analyzed with SPSS, using descriptive statistics. The protocol was approved by the ethics committee.

Results:

One hundred and eighty patients aged 3±1.6 years were included in the study, 64% were male, 54.4% had focal epilepsy; 78.8% had global developmental delay. 83.9% of the mothers had illness during pregnancy, of these, 64% were infections and 34% preeclampsia. 79% of subjects had pathologies in the neonatal period: 53% had severe jaundice and 43% had seizures. 23% had a positive family history of epilepsy.

Conclusions:

The median age was 3 years, with a male sex, focal epilepsy and developmental delay predominating. A high percentage had perinatal risk factors, both maternal and neonatal, from preventable causes. About a quarter had a family history of epilepsy.

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