Functional seizures: clinical features
Evidence-based neurology checklist on functional seizures: clinical features: General features They may arise from apparent sleep but EEG verifies wakefulness They may however also arise from slow wave sleep The onset is gradual with a waxing and waning course There is no tonic phase About 60%…
General features
- They may arise from apparent sleep but EEG verifies wakefulness
- They may however also arise from slow wave sleep
- The onset is gradual with a waxing and waning course
- There is no tonic phase
- About 60% have stereotyped events
- They are prolonged events usually lasting more than 2 minutes
- Injury avoidance is characteristic
- There may be experiential avoidance
- There is memory recall
Characteristic movements
Panic symptoms
Eye features
Cognitive features
Frequent co-morbidities
Assessment
Synonyms
References
- LaFrance WC Jr, Baker GA, Duncan R, Goldstein LH, Reuber M. Minimum requirements for the diagnosis of psychogenic nonepileptic seizures: a staged approach: a report from the International League Against Epilepsy Nonepileptic Seizures Task Force. Epilepsia 2013; 54:2005-2018.
- Mellers JDC. The approach to patients with "non-epileptic seizures". Postgrad Med J 2005; 81:498-504.
- Avbersek A, Sisodiya S. Does the primary literature provide support for clinical signs used to distinguish psychogenic nonepileptic seizures from epileptic seizures? JNNP 2010; 81:719-725.
- Duncan R. How do you identify and manage convulsive psychogenic nonepileptic seizures presenting acutely to casualty? ACNR 2012; 12:18-20.
- Higgins S, Koutroumanidis M. Psychogenic non-epileptic seizures arising almost exclusively from sleep. Seizure 2022; 99:43-47.
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