Garg Divyani, Sharma Suvasini
Department of Neurology, Lady Hardinge Medical College, New Delhi, India.
Department of Pediatrics, Lady Hardinge Medical College, New Delhi, India. Correspondence to: Dr Suvasini Sharma, Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Lady Hardinge Medical College and associated Kalawati Saran Children's Hospital, New Delhi 110 001, India.
Indian Pediatr. 2020 Oct 15;57(10):890-894.
Sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP) is a devastating complication in children with epilepsy. Children with generalized tonic-clonic convulsions, nocturnal seizures, and co-morbid developmental delay/intellectual disability are at higher risk of SUDEP. The pathogenic mechanisms are incompletely understood and involve cardiac, respiratory, autonomic and cerebral dysfunction. Prone positioning is also significantly associated with SUDEP and may be a target for SUDEP prevention. Good epilepsy control also attenuates the risk; hence, it is important to provide adequate antiepileptic drug therapy with stress on drug compliance as well as early surgical referral for seizure control, wherever necessary. It is recommended that parents of children with epilepsy be counseled about the risk factors for SUDEP and potential measures of SUDEP prevention. We herein provide a pediatric perspective of the problem and guidance about parental counselling for its prevention.
癫痫性猝死（SUDEP）是癫痫患儿中一种极具破坏性的并发症。患有全身强直阵挛性惊厥、夜间发作以及合并发育迟缓/智力残疾的儿童发生SUDEP的风险更高。其致病机制尚未完全明确，涉及心脏、呼吸、自主神经和脑功能障碍。俯卧位也与SUDEP显著相关，可能是预防SUDEP的一个靶点。良好的癫痫控制也能降低风险；因此，提供充分的抗癫痫药物治疗并强调药物依从性，以及在必要时尽早进行手术转诊以控制癫痫发作非常重要。建议向癫痫患儿的家长咨询SUDEP的危险因素及潜在的预防措施。我们在此提供关于该问题的儿科视角以及针对其预防的家长咨询指导。
