A pediatric case series of abdominal epilepsy

Background

Abdominal epilepsy (AE) is an infrequent cause of recurrent abdominal pain in children. It is characterized by paroxysmal episodes of abdominal pain, a variety of other abdominal complaints, electroencephalogram abnormalities, and response to anti-epileptic agents. We described the clinical profile of six patients with AE.

Methods

We conducted a retrospective survey of AE in children from the records of the hospital. The diagnosis of AE was dependent on recurrent abdominal symptoms, subtle central nervous system abnormalities, electroencephalogram abnormalities and response to anticonvulsant agents.

Results

The six patients were diagnosed with AE. The incidence of the disease was 0.07% in all admissions to the pediatric ward. Recurrent pain was common in all patients except two who had additional recurrent vomiting. In this series, the boy to girl ratio (1:2) was unequal.

Conclusion

High suspicion is required for the diagnosis of AE after exclusion of other possible causes.