In Whom Does Status Epilepticus Occur: Age‐Related Differences in Children

Summary : Purpose: Status epilepticus (SE) is an uncommon but potentially life‐threatening seizure. It is most common in children. Little is known about the differences within the pediatric age group in terms of the type of patient seen with SE. Methods: We analyzed the records of 394 children aged 1 month to 16 years who were part of two large studies of pediatric SE conducted in Bronx, New York, and Richmond, Virginia. The 394 children had a mean age of 4.4 years and included 349 (89%) with an initial episode of SE. Results: Status epilepticus was most common in younger children with > 40% of cases occurring in those younger than 2 years. The distribution of causes was highly age dependent. More than 80% of children younger than 2 years had SE of febrile or acute symptomatic origin, whereas cryptogenic and remote symptomatic causes were most common in older children (p