Caracterización clínica y epidemiológica de pacientes pediátricos con epilepsia

Epilepsy in children has particular characteristics that are relevant to the diagnosis and management of the disease. National studies focusing exclusively on children with epilepsy are scarce; therefore, generating local evidence describing the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of this condition is essential. To clinically and epidemiologically characterize children with epilepsy treated at Hermanos Cordové Pediatric Teaching Hospital in Manzanillo, Granma, during 2020, a retrospective descriptive study was conducted. The study population comprised 102 patients, from which a sample of 91 patients was selected through non-probability sampling. Among the results, school-aged children predominated as the age group at epilepsy onset. Males were predominant. The most frequent electroencephalographic finding was slow-wave activity, while computed tomography was the most commonly used neuroimaging study. The municipality of Bartolomé Masó had the highest number of patients. Infections were the most prevalent decompensating factor. The clinical and epidemiological characteristics of pediatric patients with epilepsy were successfully described, providing a useful tool for the critical assessment of clinical management protocols within health services.