Paeds revision lectures Flashcards
What is a seizure?
An abnormal surge of electrical brain activity.
Clinical phenomena resulting from abnormal and excessive excitability of the neurones of the cerebral hemispheres
What is epilepsy?
2 or more unprovoked epileptic seizures
What are the symptomatic causes of seizures?
Infection (meningitis/encephalitis)
Metabolic disturbance (hypoglycaemia and calcaemia, hyperammonaemia)
Trauma
Vascular (haemorrhage/stroke)
Toxins (iatrogenic- recreational or prescribed)
What investigations would you do in epilepsy?
EEG (normal does not exclude epilepsy and abnormal does not mean epilepsy)
MRI (particularly in focal seizures or if they have other neurological deficits)
Potentially metabolic bloods, LP, Urine
Genetics
What is the main useful thing about an EEG?
Classifying the epilepsy after it has been diagnosed
What are the differential diagnoses of seizures in infants ?
Bengign sleep myoclonus Benign myoclonus of infancy reflux Shuddering attacks Self gratifications Benign paroxysmal upgaze Spasmus nutans
What are the differential diagnoses of seizures in early childhood?
Breath holding attcks Reflex anoxic seizures Daydreaming Tics Stereotypies Syncope Parasomnias Shuddering attacks Tantrums Movement disorders Vertigo type syndromes
6 months old. Episodes of shaking head when excited, not with it. Normal development Normal examination Diagnosis?
Shuddering attack
18 months old
Lies on floor, stiffens up, crosses legs, starts in high chair.
Flushed, looks happy.
Normal development and normal examination
Diagnosis?
Self gratification
14 year old girl Feels hot, dizzy Vision closes in, goes black Collapses Can't hear what's going on, can't move Ok after a couple of minutes. Diagnosis?
Syncope
13 year old girl.
Night time episodes of shaking - all four limbs, rhythmic, unresponsive, sometimes gets up, confused.
Video - brief repetitive jerks of arms/hands
Diagnosis?
Clonic seiures
What are the classifications of epilepsy?
Tonic Clonic (normally repetitive) Tonic-clonic Myoclonic (often occurs in isolation) Atonic Absence Epileptic spasm
Summary of childhood absence epilepsy?
Starts age 4-7 years
Frequent absence seizures - 5-15 seconds, abrupt offset/onset, precipitated by hyperventilation, multiple times a day
Usually otherwise normal
What is the characteristic ECG in absence epilepsy?
Characteristic ECG - 3Hz spike/wave
What is the prognosis of absence epilepsy?
Good response to medication
Most outgrow in puberty 10% have generalised tonic clonic seizures in adulthood
Summary juvenile myoclonic epilspsy?
Starts usually 12-16 years
More common in girls
Myoclonic seizures
Can occur with absence and general tonic-clonic seizures
Summary genetic generalised epilepsy?
Idiopathic GTC alone Age of onset variable over 5 years old Occur in the morning Investigate - photosensitivity Treat - sodium valproate
How do you treat epilepsy?
None
Rescue medication - buccal midazolam
Regular medication - depends on seizure type and syndrome
Ketogenic diet
Epilepsy surgery - resective; corpus callosotomy
When should you not prescribe sodium valproate?
For girls of childbearing age (after periods start).
Unless it is a last resort.
Need to go on a pregnancy prevention programme
Summary febrile seizures?
Not epilepsy 6 months - 6 years 5% of children have one Seizure assocaited with fever (rate of rise) Usually GTC and less than 5 minutes Risk of epilepsy in later life - 2-5%
What is a complex febrile seizure?
Duration over 15 mins
Focal
Occurs within same illness
What’s in a septic screen?
Blood cultures MC&S CXR LP Throat swabs/skin swabs (FBC/CRP)
Why would you do blood cultures?
Bacteraemia/sepsis
What is sepsis
Sepsis is the body’s overwhelming and life-threatening response to infection that can lead to tissue damage, organ failure and death
What can cause sepsis?
Anything: bacterial, viral, fungal, parasitic
What are the red flags for sepsis
Inappropriate tachycardia
Temperature <36 or >38.5
Altered mental states (sleeping, irritability, lethargic, floppiness)
Reduced peripheral perfusion/ prolonged cap refil/ reduced urine output
What is bacteraemia?
Presence of bacteria in the blood stream - not sepsis
What are the important causes of bacteraemia in neonates?
Group B strep
E. coli
Listeria
Coagulase negative staph (if they have complex neonatal history)
What are the important causes of bacteraemia in infants/young children
Strep pneumonia H influenza Staph aureus Group A strep Neisseria meningitidis Gram negative organisms (E.coli)
What are the important causes of bacteraemia in adolescents?
Neisseria meningitidis
Staph aureus
Group A strep
Strep pneumonia
What are the important causes of bacteraemia in adolescents?
Neisseria meningitidis
Staph aureus
Group A strep
Strep pneumonia
What are the clinical features of UTI in infants and young children?
Fever Lethargy Vomiting/diarrhoea Poor feeding Failure to thrice Prolonged jaundice Sepsis Ferile convulsions
What are the clinical features of UTI in older children?
Dysuria Frequency Fever ± rigors Lethargy, reduced appetite Vomiting/diarrhoea Abdominal (loin) pain Febrile convulsions (<6 years) Incontinence/enuresis