Seizures after convulsive therapy: a retrospective case survey.

We reviewed all documented cases of spontaneous seizures that followed convulsive therapy. Nineteen studies provided information in 81 cases. The average annual incidence of spontaneous seizures was 114 per 100,000, 5 times more frequent than an age-adjusted nonpsychiatric cohort. Host susceptibility rather than treatment features influenced seizure development. A longer latency to first seizure was associated with greater likelihood of seizure recurrence, a relationship also observed in posttraumatic epilepsy.