Ophthalmologic Features of Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome

PURPOSE: To describe the characteristics and frequency of ophthalmologic findings in patients with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (LGS). METHODS: The medical records of patients diagnosed with LGS at Seoul National University Children's Hospital from January 2004 to August 2014 were retrospectively reviewed. The records of 34 patients (mean age ± standard deviation, 2.66 ± 3.51 years; male, 58.8%) were reviewed. The primary measure was the incidence of ophthalmologic manifestations. RESULTS: Of the 34 patients, 88.2% had at least one ocular abnormality. Refractive error (52.9%) was the most frequently observed ophthalmologic manifestation in patients with LGS, followed by strabismus (32.4%), cortical visual impairment (23.5%), and retinopathy of prematurity (8.8%). Among these cases, seven patients had exotropia and three had esotropia. CONCLUSIONS: LGS is a childhood-onset epileptic encephalopathy with variable ophthalmologic manifestations, the most frequent being refractive errors. Patients with suspected LGS should be examined regularly because ophthalmological features can change during their disease course.