[Panayiotopoulos syndrome: academic difficulties and behavioural disorders].

INTRODUCTION

Panayiotopoulos syndrome (PS) is one of the benign epilepsies found in childhood. Some papers have shown that patients can present behavioural disorders and learning difficulties.

AIMS

To review patients diagnosed with PS in our hospital and to check whether they display evidence of such disorders and if there is any specific feature that allows high-risk patients to be identified.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

A retrospective review of the medical records of patients diagnosed with PS was carried out. An electroencephalogram (EEG) or video-EEG-polygraph recordings were performed on all patients during sleep. The Weschler Intelligence Scale for Children was used to evaluate intelligence.

RESULTS

Data were collected for 33 patients, 17 of whom were children. The mean age at onset was 3.2 years and the follow-up was 4.9 years (range: 1-12 years). Irritative EEG phenomena were detected in the occipital (67.7%), temporal (45.2%) or parietal regions (22.5%) in 31 patients. Furthermore, 72.7% of patients presented more than two seizures. Twenty-three patients required treatment with antiepileptic drugs. Two patients were diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Additionally, 30.3% reported dispersed attention and 27.3% had an impulsive character. It was found that 51.1% had a good level of academic achievement, in 26.5% it was regular and in 17.6% poor. A total of 39.4% needed assistance in the form of after-school classes. The level of intelligence was evaluated in 11 patients.

CONCLUSION

PS is a condition with a good prognosis, but seems to be associated to learning and behavioural disorders.