Long-term follow-up of absence seizures.

The prognosis of absence seizures was evaluated in 83 patients by univariate and multivariate analysis. The mean follow-up period was 9.5 years. Normal intelligence quotient (IQ) was found to be a significant prognostic factor by both methods of analysis, but multivariate analysis showed that normal IQ, no hyperventilation-induced spikes and waves, male sex, and normal neurologic findings were significant prognostic factors associated with cessation of all types of seizures. More than 90% of patients with three or more significant factors stopped having seizures. A multiple logistic regression model describes the population and can be used for estimating the outcome of patients with absence seizures.