TY - JOUR
T1 - Clinical Impact of Coronavirus Disease 2019 Outbreaks in Korea on Seizures in Children
AU - Lee, Seungjae
AU - Hwang, Su Kyeong
AU - Lee, Yun Jeong
AU - Bae, Hyunwoo
AU - Kwon, Soonhak
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 Korean Child Neurology Society This is an Open Access article distributed under.
PY - 2024/7
Y1 - 2024/7
N2 - Purpose: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) can be associated with neurological complications. This study investigated the impact of COVID-19 outbreaks on seizure incidence and duration in children in Korea. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed medical records from Kyungpook National University Children’s Hospital, including 768 children with seizures during the peak COVID-19 outbreaks in March and August 2022, and compared patterns with the same periods in 2021. We examined demographic and clinical characteristics, causes of seizures, underlying conditions, seizure durations, and COVID-19 test results. Results: Out of 16,373,836 COVID-19 cases during the first peak, 25.6% were children (4,184,383), and during the second peak, 20.5% of 6,400,244 cases were children (1,314,331). No significant age differences were observed between either peak and the previous year. However, when compared to the previous year, febrile seizures (FS) were more common during both peaks (25.9% vs. 65.1% in the first peak; 34.3% vs. 59.2% in the second peak). The prevalence of FS was significantly higher in the COVID-19-positive group (84.1%) than in the COVID-19-negative group (51.9%). The incidence of new-onset seizures or breakthrough seizures showed no significant difference. Seizure duration and the incidence of status epilepticus (SE) showed no significant changes, but SE was more common in the COVID-19-negative group (17.1% vs. 6.2%). The clinical features of FS were similar in both groups. Conclusion: COVID-19 appeared to increase the risk of FS in children, but there was no significant impact on the risk of breakthrough seizures or SE in children with epilepsy. Nevertheless, larger-scale studies are necessary.
AB - Purpose: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) can be associated with neurological complications. This study investigated the impact of COVID-19 outbreaks on seizure incidence and duration in children in Korea. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed medical records from Kyungpook National University Children’s Hospital, including 768 children with seizures during the peak COVID-19 outbreaks in March and August 2022, and compared patterns with the same periods in 2021. We examined demographic and clinical characteristics, causes of seizures, underlying conditions, seizure durations, and COVID-19 test results. Results: Out of 16,373,836 COVID-19 cases during the first peak, 25.6% were children (4,184,383), and during the second peak, 20.5% of 6,400,244 cases were children (1,314,331). No significant age differences were observed between either peak and the previous year. However, when compared to the previous year, febrile seizures (FS) were more common during both peaks (25.9% vs. 65.1% in the first peak; 34.3% vs. 59.2% in the second peak). The prevalence of FS was significantly higher in the COVID-19-positive group (84.1%) than in the COVID-19-negative group (51.9%). The incidence of new-onset seizures or breakthrough seizures showed no significant difference. Seizure duration and the incidence of status epilepticus (SE) showed no significant changes, but SE was more common in the COVID-19-negative group (17.1% vs. 6.2%). The clinical features of FS were similar in both groups. Conclusion: COVID-19 appeared to increase the risk of FS in children, but there was no significant impact on the risk of breakthrough seizures or SE in children with epilepsy. Nevertheless, larger-scale studies are necessary.
KW - Child
KW - COVID-19
KW - Epilepsy
KW - SARS-CoV-2
KW - Seizures
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85198100850&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.26815/acn.2024.00465
DO - 10.26815/acn.2024.00465
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85198100850
SN - 2635-909X
VL - 32
SP - 154
EP - 160
JO - Annals of Child Neurology
JF - Annals of Child Neurology
IS - 3
ER -