Benign childhood epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes: clinical characteristics and identification of patients at risk for multiple seizures.

This study aimed to characterize patients diagnosed as having benign childhood epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes and few seizures and compare them with patients with benign childhood epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes with multiple seizures. The medical files of 87 consecutive patients with benign childhood epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes were reviewed and data on gender, age at disease onset, duration of the disease, number of seizures, seizure semiology, and electroencephalographic and neuroimaging findings were analyzed. The mean age at disease onset was 8 years. The mean duration of the disease was 2 years. Eighteen percent of the patients had more than 20 seizures each, whereas 24% had 1 to 3 seizures each. The only predictor for a disease course with multiple seizures was an onset prior to 3 years of age.