Search

Neonatal convulsions may be the first, in some cases, the only clinical sign of neonatal central nervous system disorder. As such, they require prompt evaluation to determine the cause, as the underlying may have influential causes. Furthermore, since they may contribute to further brain injury, they require immediate treatment. Neonatal convulsions have unique clinical features and their presentation differs from convulsions in older children. They may include focal clonic, focal tonic, myoclonic and epileptic spasms. Furthermore, they may present with abnormal eye movements, lip smacking, swimming or pedaling movements, or apnea. Moreover, non-convulsive paroxysmal movements are also common in the neonatal population and are sometimes diffcult to distinguish from convulsions. Continuous electroencephalogram is the gold standard (cEEG) for the detection of neonatal convulsions. In addition to continuous electroencephalogram (cEEG), amplitude EEG (aEEG) is a useful bedside tool. Neonatal convulsions carry a high risk for early mortality, but are also a negative predictive factor for the development of motor and cognitive disorders and epilepsy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]