Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2019 Dec;9(12):e01406.
doi: 10.1002/brb3.1406. Epub 2019 Sep 30.

Psychogenic nonepileptic seizures in pediatric population: A review

Francesca Felicia Operto  1 , Giangennaro Coppola  1 , Roberta Mazza  2 , Grazia Maria Giovanna Pastorino  1   3 , Stella Campanozzi  2 , Lucia Margari  2 , Michele Roccella  4 , Rosa Marotta  5 , Marco Carotenuto  3
Affiliations
Review

Psychogenic nonepileptic seizures in pediatric population: A review

Francesca Felicia Operto et al. Brain Behav. 2019 Dec.

Abstract

Introduction: Psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES) are observable abrupt paroxysmal changes in behavior or consciousness that resemble epileptic seizures, but without concurrent electroencephalographic abnormalities.

Methods: In this manuscript, we reviewed literature concerning pediatric PNES and focused on those articles published in the last 10 years, in order to try to understand what the state of the art is at the moment, particularly as regards relationship and differential diagnosis with epilepsy.

Results: Psychogenic nonepileptic seizures have been extensively described in literature mainly in adults and less frequently in children. Despite the potential negative impact of a misdiagnosis (unnecessary investigations and antiepileptic drugs, structured pathological behavioral patterns), in literature there is little information regarding the real prevalence, clinical features, treatment, and outcome of PNES in children and adolescents.

Conclusion: Psychogenic nonepileptic seizures are common but frequently missed entity in pediatric population. Diagnosis could be difficult, especially in those children who have both epileptic and nonepileptic seizures; video EEG and home video can help clinicians in diagnosis. More studies are needed to better classify PNES in children and facilitate diagnosis and treatment.

Keywords: children; psychogenic seizures; video EEG.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

None decalred.

References

    1. Akdemir, D. , Uzun, O. , Özsungur, B. P. , & Topçu, M. (2013). Health‐related quality of life in adolescents with psychogenic non epileptic seizures. Epilepsy & Behavior, 29(3), 516–520. 10.1016/j.yebeh.2013.09.015 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Alessi, R. , Vincentiis, S. , Rzezak, P. , & Valente, K. D. (2013). Semiology of psychogenic non‐epileptic seizures: Age‐related differences. Epilepsy & Behavior, 27, 292–295. 10.1016/j.yebeh.2013.02.003 - DOI - PubMed
    1. An, D. M. , Wu, X. T. , Yan, B. , Mu, J. , & Zhou, D. (2010). Clinical features of psychogenic non epileptic seizures: A study of 64 cases in southwest China. Epilepsy & Behavior, 17(3), 408–411. 10.1016/j.yebeh.2010.01.003 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Anderson, D. G. , Damianova, M. , Hanekomb, S. , & Lucas, M. (2017). A comparative retrospective exploration of the profiles of patients in South Africa diagnosed with epileptic and psychogenic non‐epileptic seizures. Epilepsy & Behavior, 69, 37–43. 10.1016/j.yebeh.2017.01.005 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Asadi‐Pooya, A. A. , & Emami, M. (2013). Demographic and clinical manifestations of psychogenic non‐epileptic seizures: The impact of co‐existing epilepsy in patients or their family members. Epilepsy & Behavior, 27(1), 1–3. 10.1016/j.yebeh.2012.12.010 - DOI - PubMed