Respiratory syncytial virus-associated seizures in Korean children, 2011–2016

Cha, Teahyen; Choi, Young Jin; Oh, Jae-Won; Kim, Chang-Ryul; Park, Dong Woo; Seol, In Joon; Moon, Jin-Hwa

Five patients showed afebrile seizures without meningitis or encephalopathy (boy, 4; girl, 1; mean age, 16.8±14.4 months). The types of seizure were as follows: generalized tonic-clonic (n=2), generalized tonic (n=1), hypomotor (n=1), and myoclonic (n=1). The patients had no family history of epilepsy and showed respiratory symptoms. Abnormal EEG signals were observed in 2 of the patients: focal epileptiform discharges from the parietal (n=1) and occipital (n=1) areas. Brain MRI abnormalities were observed in one of the patients: benign cavernous angioma. CSF examinations were performed in 4 patients, and all of them showed normal results. One of the patients who presented with epileptiform discharges from the parietal area during the first seizure later evolved to epile psy. Further details of the clinical profiles of afebrile seizures are described in Table 3 . Seizure with meningitis, confirmed by CSF examination, was observed in two patients (both girls; mean age, 4.0±4.2 months). One of the patients was a 7-month-old girl with urinary tract infection; she did not present with definite respiratory symptoms and showed abnormal EEG signals (continuous theta on left frontal electrode). In the patients with meningitis, CSF bacterial cultures and tests for enterovirus yielded negative results. Brain MRI results were normal in both patients. We did not perform the CSF examinations for the RSV. All the patients recovered without complication. Seizure with encephalopathy was observed in 1 patient. Detailed findings have been described below.