Small patients, big challenges: Diagnosis and classification of neonatal seizures

Seizures are the most common expression of brain injury in neonates. Accurate diagnosis of neonatal seizures is challenging due to the fact that seizures may resemble normal or abnormal neonatal behaviours and at the same time many seizures have only subtle clinical signs or are electrographic only. Prompt diagnosis is necessary to allow early treatment. The new ILAE neonatal seizure classification provides a novel, evidence-based framework for the diagnosis and classification of neonatal seizures that integrates clinical signs and electroencephalographic findings.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the difficulties in neonatal seizure diagnosis
• Understand the electrographic pattern of neonatal seizures
• Understand the value of a seizure classification and its implication for clinical management.