Neuropediatrics 2006; 37 - THP24
DOI: 10.1055/s-2006-945847

HOME OBSERVATION OF SEIZURES IN EPILEPTIC CHILDREN: RESULTS OF A FLEMISCH STUDY

B Ceulemans 1, 2, G De Maeght 3, L Dom 4, H Verhelst 5, L Lagae 1, 6
  • 1Epilepsy Center for Children and Youth Pulderbos, Pulderbos, Antwerp, Belgium
  • 2University Hospital – Antwerp, Belgium
  • 3MPI Maria Oosterloo – Geel, Belgium
  • 4Paola Children's Hospital – Antwerp, Belgium
  • 5University Hospital – Ghent, Belgium
  • 6University Hospital – Leuven, Belgium

Objectives: A large majority of parents that have children with epilepsy are still afraid of missing seizures at home. Technical evolution has now made it possible and affordable to do constant video observation in the home. In this study we examined the type of observation systems parents used at home, focusing mainly on the night time.

Methods: With a simple questionnaire we asked 100 parents about the observation system they used at home as well as their fear and sleep attitudes about their children with epilepsy. The children were patients who stayed at an Epilepsy Centre, attended a school for mentally retarded or were seen at the department of child neurology in a University Hospital. The parents of 62 boys and 38 girls (aged 0 to 25 years) completed the questionnaire.

Results: The results of the 100 questionnaires were analysed. Although 54 pairs of parents were scared of missing seizures, only 33 used an observation device in the home; 27 patients were monitored using a baby phone system, five patients with a video observation system, two patients by a sibling sleeping in the same room, and one patient by a special arm device for detecting seizures. During the night eight out of 100 patients were found to still sleep in bed with their parents. From these patients five are below 6 years but one is already above 12 years old. Only 34 out of the 100 children slept in their own bedroom with the door closed, of these patients the parents of 27 still continue to check on their children while they sleep. There is a slight overrepresentation of those who have severe convulsions but not with the occurrence of nocturnal convulsions.

Conclusion: Parent-child observation studies concerning the need of seizure detection systems for epilepsy in the home are rare. We present the results of such a study in the Flemish part of Belgium. Although more than 50% of parents are afraid of missing seizures at home, beside the baby phone system other observation devices are only being used sporadically. Only one third of children sleep in their own room with the door closed.