Incidence of poststroke seizures: A meta-analysis

•A global, pooled incidence of poststroke seizure.•The incidence of poststroke seizure varies due to different definition of late-onset poststroke seizure.•Including the seizure within 7–14 days after stroke increases the incidence of poststroke seizure. Late-onset poststroke seizure is highly associated with epilepsy but the incidence of it is variable due to different definition and follow-up time. We conducted a meta-analysis to determine the incidence of poststroke seizure and analyze the discrepancies among published studies. We searched the literature for relevant articles published in English between January 1, 1990, and December 31, 2014, by using the following search terms: “seizures after stroke,” “poststroke seizures,” “epilepsy after stroke,” “poststroke epilepsy,” “incidence,” and “follow-up.” Reference lists of the relevant articles were reviewed to identify eligible studies not captured by these terms. Seven relevant cohort studies were identified and analyzed. Incidence density was defined as the number of episodes per 100 person-years. Using the definition of late-onset poststroke seizure as seizure occurring 14 days after a stroke, the incidence density was 1.12 (0.95–1.32) per 100 person-years. For poststroke seizures occurring 7 days after the stroke, the incidence density increased to 3.22 (2.94–3.52) per 100 person-years. Our results are relevant to the epidemiology of late-onset poststroke seizure, with 14 days being the ideal cutoff time point. The pooled incidence density of late-onset poststroke seizure was 1.12 per 100 person-years in 4 cohort studies.