2Antalya Eğitim ve Araştırma Hastanesi, Beyin ve Sinir Cerrahisi Kliniği, Antalya, Türkiye AIM: To reveal the relationship between age and the likelihood of early post-traumatic epilepsy (PTE) in patients who suffered cerebral contusion due to mild-to-moderate head trauma.
MATERIAL and METHODS: A total of 100 patients who had trauma-related cerebral contusion and a score of Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score ≥ 9 were included in the study. The patients were categorized in five groups based on age as follows: 0-3 years Group I, 4-9 years Group II, 10-19 years Group III, 20-64 years Group IV and ≥65 years Group V. Any possible relationship of PTE with the characteristics of the contusion such as localization; cortical/deep nature; size; single/multiple lesions; coexisting fractures; presence of subarachnoid, subdural, or epidural hematoma; and GCS were investigated.
RESULTS: The study population consisted of 74 males and 26 females. The number of patients was 10, 26, 17, 34, and 13 in Groups I, II, III, IV and V respectively. Mean GCS score was 13.7, 13.3, 12.5, 13.0, and 12.0 in Groups I, II, III, IV and V respectively. PTE incidence was 10%, 19.2%, 23.5%, 14.7%, and 30.8% in Groups I, II, III, IV and V respectively. The most common localization was the frontal and temporal lobes in epileptic patients, while those with multiple lesions, a lesion diameter of ≥ 12 mm, and a GCS of ≤ 11 showed a significantly higher number of seizures.
CONCLUSION: Increasing age had a positive correlation with early PTE incidence in patients diagnosed with cerebral contusion.
Anahtar Kelimeler : Epilepsy, Glasgow coma scale, Head injury, Post-traumatic epilepsy, Risk factor, Age