School performance in children at the time of new-onset seizures and at long-term follow-up: A retrospective cohort study

OBJECTIVE: School-performance difficulties (SPD) are common in children with epilepsy. The objectives of this study were to determine if the rate of SPD in children with seizures change from seizure-onset to follow-up and differ from children with psychiatric disorders. METHODS: School-aged children who required an initial electroencephalography (EEG) test in 2016 were reviewed and separated into two groups based on the presence or absence of seizures. Developmental delay and SPD were compared between groups at initial assessment and SPD was assessed after 2–4 years of follow-up. Analysis was also performed on a sub-set of patients with psychiatric disorders. RESULTS: At baseline, the rate of SPD was similar between the seizure (n = 146) and non-seizure (n = 332) groups [26% vs. 27%]. At follow-up, the seizure (n = 119) group had a significantly higher rate of SPD than the non-seizure (n = 215) group (54% vs. 43%). There was no difference in the rate of SPD between the seizure (n = 119) and psychiatric (n = 69) groups at baseline (31% vs. 43%) or follow-up (54% vs. 55%). CONCLUSION: Over time, children with recurrent seizures experience more SPD than children without seizures, but similar SPD to children with psychiatric disorders.