AES 2023 | Diagnosing neonatal seizures: clinical semiology and EEG

Elissa Yozawitz, MD, FAES, Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, discusses the classification of neonatal seizures using clinical semiology and electroencephalogram (EEG). The incidence of epilepsy is high in neonates and often associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Rapid diagnosis is crucial, given that neonatal seizures are often provoked by acute factors like infection or errors of metabolism. The ILAE Neonatal Seizures Task Force developed a classification of seizure types relevant to this age group, where seizure type of determined by the predominant clinical feature and divided into motor, non-motor, and sequential. Dr Yozawitz emphasizes the key role of EEG for the diagnosis of seizures in this age group. Beyond electroclinical seizures, electrographic-only seizures are common in neonates, where an electrographic seizure seen on EEG is not associated with any evident clinical signs. This interview took place during the American Epilepsy Society (AES) 2023 Annual Meeting congress in Orlando, FL.

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