Panayiotopoulos Syndrome: A Benign Autonomic Epilepsy

Panayiotopoulos syndrome (PS) is described as a benign autonomic epilepsy that affects up to 13% of children aged 3–6 years (6% aged 1–15 years) with a history of nonfebrile seizures. The clinical features, electroencephalogram (EEG), misdiagnoses, and management of PS are reviewed by an investigator from the Sophia Children’s Hospital, Goudi, Athens, Greece. Emesis is the predominant manifestation of autonomic seizures in PS. Other autonomic symptoms include pallor, mydriasis, urinary or fecal incontinence, and hypersalivation. One-fifth of patients have ictal syncope with or without convulsions. One-half of the seizures last for >30 minutes, and constitute a nonconvulsive autonomic status. Two-thirds of the seizures occur during sleep. The EEG shows multiple spikes with occipital predominance, and occasionally centro-temporal spikes …