HOW PHYSICIANS MANAGE SEIZURE DISORDERS IN INFANTS AND CHILDREN: A PILOT STUDY

To see which medical specialties usually manage seizure disorders in infants and children, a random survey was done among 105 such patients referred. These patients were most frequently seen by a pediatrician (n= 44, 4 1.9%), general practitioner (n=34, 32.4%), and hospital house staff of general and pediatric emergency rooms (n= 2, 19%) in the area surveyed. A correct diagnosis of seizure disorder was achieved in 87.6% and 87.6% of the patients were managed correctly by various medical specialties. Several "seizure mimickers" were mistaken for seizure, i.e., breath holding spells, syncope and night terrors. It is concluded that various medical specialties are involved in the care of infants and children with seizure disorder, and further effort on the education of these specialties would avoid mis-management of such patients.