Department of Neuropediatrics, The Danish Epilepsy Center, Filadelfia, Dianalund, Denmark; Danish National Center of Psychotraumatology, Department of Psychology, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, 5230 Odense, Denmark.
Danish National Center of Psychotraumatology, Department of Psychology, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, 5230 Odense, Denmark.
Epilepsy Behav. 2021 Sep;122:108217. doi: 10.1016/j.yebeh.2021.108217. Epub 2021 Aug 2.
To assess symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in children with severe epilepsy and the associations of trauma symptoms across age, comorbid symptoms, epilepsy-specific factors, parental resources, and psychopathology.
Fifty children with severe epilepsy across three different age groups (0-5 yrs., 6-12 yrs., 13-18 yrs.) were assessed with developmental-sensitive and standardized PTSD assessment tools when hospitalized at the tertiary epilepsy center Filadelfia, Denmark. The Diagnostic Infant and Preschool Assessment (DIPA), the Darryl test, and the ITQ questionnaire were used to assess the three age groups, respectively.
Twenty-two percent of the overall sample met the criteria for PTSD, with a prevalence of symptoms increasing with age (6%, 28%, and 40%). Comorbid psychiatric symptoms in preschoolers were present in 81% of the children witnessing a high level of distress in this group. Behavioral difficulties were elevated across all three age groups, and 40% of the children with trauma symptoms had a parent with concurrent psychopathology.
To the authors' knowledge, this study is the first to assess trauma symptoms with standardized tests in children with more complicated epilepsies. Trauma symptoms in the group are high; however, there is a need for larger scale studies and research into trauma symptoms in children with more severe epilepsy than those assessable with the included assessment tools. The trauma perspective in severe childhood epilepsy might further clarify the complex associations of biological and contextual variables that affect the children's life quality and enable better preventative treatment options for this group.
评估患有重度癫痫的儿童创伤后应激障碍（PTSD）的症状，并探讨创伤症状与年龄、共病症状、癫痫特异性因素、父母资源和精神病理学之间的关联。
在丹麦费利达菲娅三级癫痫中心住院的 50 名患有重度癫痫的儿童，分别使用发育敏感和标准化的 PTSD 评估工具进行评估，包括发展婴儿和学前评估（DIPA）、达瑞尔测试和 ITQ 问卷。
总体样本中有 22%符合 PTSD 标准，且随着年龄的增长，症状的患病率也在增加（6%、28%和 40%）。在目睹高痛苦水平的学龄前儿童中，共病精神科症状的发生率为 81%。所有三个年龄组的行为困难都有所增加，有创伤症状的儿童中有 40%的父母同时存在精神病理学。
据作者所知，这项研究首次使用标准化测试评估复杂癫痫儿童的创伤症状。该组儿童的创伤症状发生率较高；然而，需要进行更大规模的研究，以深入了解比纳入评估工具可评估的更严重癫痫儿童的创伤症状。从创伤角度看待严重儿童癫痫可能会进一步阐明影响儿童生活质量的生物学和环境变量的复杂关联，并为该组儿童提供更好的预防治疗选择。
