AUTONOMIC SEIZURES AND AUTONOMIC STATUS EPILEPTICUS IN EARLY ONSET BENIGN CHILDHOOD OCCIPITAL EPILEPSY

ABSTRACT- To study clinical and EEG features of children with ictal vomiting and no underlying brain le-sions (Panayiotopoulos syndrome). The subjects were 36 children aged 2-13 years. The onset of seizures occurred between 1 and 5 years of age. Fourteen children (38.8%) had a single seizure. Fourteen children (38.8%) had autonomic status epilepticus. Impairment of consciousness was reported in 30 (83.3%) chil-dren, eye deviation in 10 (27.7%) other autonomic symptoms and head deviation in 9, generalization in 8, visual symptoms in one child, and, speech arrest or hemifacial motor symptoms in 8 cases. The EEG showed occipital spikes or spike-wave complexes in 27 (75.0%) children, blocked by opening of the eyes in 8 (22.2%) cases. Nine patients (25%) also had rolandic spikes and 3 had extraoccipital spikes. Six (16.6%) patients had normal EEG. No clinical differences were observed between patients having occipital or extraoc-cipital spikes. In children only with autonomic seizures, the spikes are predominantly occipital but block-age by opening of the eyes is a less frequent feature. In some children there is an overlapping of differ-ent focal childhood idiopathic syndromes. KEY WORDS: benign childhood epilepsy, eletroencephalography, epileptiform activity, ictus emeticus, occip-ital spikes, Panayiotopoulos syndrome. Crises autonômicas e status epilepticus autonômico na epilepsia occipital benigna da infânci