Acute seizures and the risk of post-stroke epilepsy in children with arterial ischemic stroke. 2025

Andrea Rüegger, and Eliane Pfister, and Regula Everts, and Tatia Aprasidze, and Arsany Hakim, and Gabriela Oesch, and Mária Regényi, and Maja Steinlin, and Iciar Sanchez-Albisua
Department of Neuropaediatrics, University Children's Hospital Zurich and University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland; Division of Neuropaediatrics, Development and Rehabilitation, University Children's Hospital, Inselspital, University of Bern, Switzerland. Electronic address: andrea.rueegger@kispi.uzh.ch.

OBJECTIVE This study aims to investigate the incidence, risk factors, and long-term outcomes of acute symptomatic seizures and post-stroke epilepsy in a cohort of children and adolescents who suffered from arterial ischemic stroke (AIS-C). METHODS Children and adolescents (aged 29 days to 16 years) with AIS-C were prospectively enrolled in the population-based Swiss Neuropediatric Stroke Registry (SNPRS) between 2000 and 2020. Demographic data, clinical presentation, and seizure characteristics were documented. Follow-up evaluations were performed at six- and 24-months post-stroke to assess the development of epilepsy. Risk factors for acute seizures and post-stroke epilepsy were analysed using univariate regression models. Of 315 patients with AIS, 201 children were male (63.5 %), with a median age of 6.1 years (IQR: 2.1-11.4). Acute seizures were observed in 75 (23.8 %) children, being the initial symptom in 44/75 (58.7 %). Status epilepticus occurred in 12/75 (16.0 %). Acute symptomatic seizures were associated with younger age (median 1.1 years [IQR 0.4-6.0] vs 7.2 years [IQR 3.8-12.2]; p < 0.001) and cortical involvement (OR 3.3; 95 % CI 1.8-6.0; p < 0.001). At the 6-month follow-up, 12 patients (4.5 %) had developed active epilepsy and 12 patients (5.4 %) at 24 months. The presence of acute symptomatic seizures did not increase the risk for epilepsy at 6 months (OR 1.5; 95 % CI 0.5 to 5.1; p = 0.47) but was associated with a higher risk at 24 months (OR 3.2; 95 % CI 1.0 to 10.7; p = 0.047). The most common stroke aetiologies, classified using the Childhood AIS Standardized Classification and Diagnostic Evaluation (CASCADE) criteria, were cardioembolic (32.0 % in patients with acute seizures vs 18.4 % in those without) and unilateral focal cerebral arteriopathy (22.7 % vs 26.4 %). Stroke aetiology remained undetermined in 20.0 % vs 31.8 %. Drug-resistant epilepsy was reported in seven children (2.2 %) with severe comorbid conditions, such as congenital heart disease and sepsis. Children with post-stroke epilepsy experienced significantly worse neurological outcomes, as measured by the Pediatric Stroke Outcome Measure (PSOM), compared to children without post-stroke epilepsy (median PSOM score 3.0 vs. 0.5, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS Acute symptomatic seizures are a common complication of paediatric ischemic stroke and are strongly associated with younger age and cortical involvement. Although these seizures do not predict early epilepsy development at 6 months, they are a risk factor for post-stroke epilepsy at 24 months. Children with post-stroke epilepsy show poorer neurological outcomes and those with severe underlying conditions are at an increased risk of drug-resistant epilepsy. These findings highlight the need for careful monitoring and early intervention in children with high-risk profiles.

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