Risk of post-traumatic epilepsy after severe head injury in patients with at least one seizure

BACKGROUND: To explore the incidence and risk factors, including type of seizures for post-traumatic epilepsy (PTE) after severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). SUBJECTS AND METHODS: This was a retrospective follow-up study of patients discharged from Liaocheng People’s Hospital between March 2011 and June 2015 with a diagnosis of post-traumatic seizures. Risk factors for PTE were evaluated in 68 inpatients by using Kaplan–Meier curves and the Cox model. RESULTS: Complete clinical information was available for 68 patients. A total of 54 cases (79.4%) were diagnosed as presenting with PTE, occurring from 10 days to 179 months after severe TBI. Nineteen out of 54 cases (35.2%) had been defined as PTE within the first 6 months after the trauma, 17 cases (31.5%) within 7–12 months, 8 cases (14.8%) within 13–24 months, 2 cases (3.7%) within 25–36 months, and 8 cases (14.8%) within 37–179 months after the TBI. The Kaplan–Meier curves demonstrated that simple partial seizures, surgical treatment, and onset of seizures occurring within 6 months after injury were associated with PTE. CONCLUSIONS: The Cox model indicated that, for patients aged >34 years at the time of injury, the PTE risk was 2.55 times greater than for those aged ≤34 years. In addition, simple partial seizures, surgical treatment and onset of seizures occurring within 6 months after injury were significant risk factors for the development of PTE.