National General Practice Study of Epilepsy: recurrence after a first seizure

In the National General Practice Study of Epilepsy 564 patients classified as having definite seizures have been followed up for 2-4 years. 67% (95% confidence interval 63-71%) had a recurrence within 12 months of the first seizure, and 78% (74-81%) had a recurrence within 36 months. Seizures associated with a neurological deficit presumed present at birth had a high rate of recurrence (100% by 12 months), whereas seizures that occurred within 3 months of an acute insult to the brain, such as head injury or stroke, or in the context of an acute precipitant such as alcohol, carried a much lower risk of recurrence (40% [29-51%] by 12 months). Other factors affecting the risk of recurrence were age-the highest risk being for patients under the age of 16 (83% [77-89%] by 36 months) or over the age of 59 (83% [76-90%] by 36 months-and type of first seizure-the risk of recurrence being much higher for patients with simple partial or complex partial seizures (94% [90-99%] by 36 months) than for those with generalised tonic clonic seizures (72% [67-77%] by 36 months).

[1]  H. Costeff.  Convulsions in childhood: their natural history and indications for treatment. , 1965, The New England journal of medicine.

[2]  W. Hauser,et al.  The Epidemiology of Epilepsy in Rochester, Minnesota, 1935 Through 1967 , 1975, Epilepsia.

[3]  W. Steward,et al.  Prognosis of isolated seizures in adult life. , 1981, British medical journal.

[4]  Anthony Hopkins,et al.  THE FIRST SEIZURE IN ADULT LIFE Value of Clinical Features, Electroencephalography, and Computerised Tomographic Scanning in Prediction of Seizure Recurrence , 1988, The Lancet.

[5]  C. Camfield,et al.  Epilepsy after a first unprovoked seizure in childhood , 1985, Neurology.

[6]  Anthony Hopkins,et al.  FIRST SEIZURE IN ADULT LIFE , 1988, The Lancet.

[7]  M. Saunders,et al.  Isolated Seizures: An EEG and Clinical Assessment , 1975, Epilepsia.

[8]  E. H. Reynolds,et al.  PROGNOSIS AFTER A FIRST UNTREATED TONIC-CLONIC SEIZURE , 1985, The Lancet.

[9]  S. Blom,et al.  Incidence of Epilepsy in Children: A Follow‐up Study Three Years After the First Seizure , 1978, Epilepsia.

[10]  M. Thomas.  The single seizures: its study and management. , 1959, Journal of the American Medical Association.

[11]  W. Hauser,et al.  Risk of Recurrence After an Initial Unprovoked Seizure , 1986, Epilepsia.

[12]  D. Goodridge,et al.  Epileptic seizures in a population of 6000. II: Treatment and prognosis. , 1983, British medical journal.

[13]  Josemir W Sander,et al.  MEDICAL SCIENCE National General Practice Study of Epilepsy: newly diagnosed epileptic seizures in a general population , 1990, The Lancet.

[14]  Josemir W Sander,et al.  National General Practice Study of Epilepsy and Epileptic Seizures: Objectives and Study Methodology of the Largest Reported Prospective Cohort Study of Epilepsy , 1989, Neuroepidemiology.

[15]  G SELBY,et al.  THE DRUG TREATMENT OF EPILEPSY , 1953, The Medical journal of Australia.

[16]  W. Hauser,et al.  Seizure recurrence after a first unprovoked seizure. , 1982, The New England journal of medicine.