Abstracts

Rationale: Absence seizures are brief epileptic seizures, which present in childhood and adolescence. They are characterized by transient loss of consciousness of sudden onset and recovery. Absence seizures are divided into typical and atypical types. Typical absence seizures usually occur in the context of idiopathic generalized epilepsies and EEG shows fast >2.5 Hz generalized spike-wave discharges. Atypical absence seizures occur in the context of symptomatic or cryptogenic epilepsies, onset and termination is not so abrupt and the EEG is of slow l<2.5 Hz spike and slow wave. The classical treatment for these types of seizures is mainly ethosuximide, sodium valproate and lamotrigine, controlling the seizures in about 75%-80% of the patients. There is a about 20% of the patient that they do not respond to the main drugs, becoming medically refractory absence seizures. Methods: a systematic retrospective review of children with medically refractory typical and atypical absence seizures who received treatment with clobazam as adjuvant therapy. Results: we identified 10 patients, aged 3-14 years with clinical and electrographic diagnosis of medically refractory typical absence seizures (n: 3) and medically refractory atypical absence seizures (n: 7) who were on 1-3 anti-epileptic medications, and clobazam was added to their regimen. Adverse events were reported and efficacy was measured as a reduction in seizure frequency and improvement of electroencephalogram (EEG). From the medically refractory typical absence seizure group, 3/3 (100%) patients had 100% seizure reduction. From the atypical absence seizure group 1/7 (14.2%) patient had 100% seizure reduction, 5/7 (71.4%) patients had >