Childhood Epilepsy with Occipital Paroxysm: Classification, Atypical Evolution and Long-Term Prognosis in 35 Patients.

We studied childhood epilepsy with occipital paroxysms (CEOP) with regard to typical and/or atypical ictal symptoms, EEG findings, as well as atypical evolution and outcome. This report focuses on the main clinical and EEG features of CEOP underlying its atypical symptoms and its management. Thirty-five patients with CEOP were subdivided into Panayiotopoulos syndrome (n=15), Gastaut syndrome (n=11), and mixed type (n=9). Nine patients (25%) with CEOP (mixed type) had shown atypical ictal manifestations and presented combinations of vomiting (100%) along with visual symptoms (66%), and/or eye deviation (66%), and headaches (44%). Five patients with CEOP had atypical evolution. However, the dictate for strict delineation into either the early-onset or late-onset forms of CEOP should be discarded because many children will present mixed clinical findings at varying ages. We think a detailed evaluation should be carried out as to why certain patients who apply have atypical findings, and whether each patient has age related evolution or not.