21.6 percent of children seen at FSC were diagnosed with epilepsy after the first visit<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter<\/b>
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FRIDAY, Dec. 5, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Children referred to a first seizure clinic (FSC) see a neurologist epilepsy specialist within one week, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the American Epilepsy Society, held from Dec. 5 to 9 in Atlanta.<\/p>\n
Noting that children often wait weeks or months after having a seizure to see a specialist, Gogi Kumar, M.D., from the Dayton Children’s Hospital in Ohio, and colleagues examined the length of time until evaluation for those referred to the FSC at Dayton Children’s Hospital.<\/p>\n
The researchers found that between Jan. 1, 2017, and April 30, 2025, 1,622 children were seen a median of six days after referral to the FSC. Overall, 21.6 percent were diagnosed with epilepsy, generalized epilepsy, febrile seizures, absence epilepsy\/syndrome, benign childhood epilepsy, Jeavons syndrome, or juvenile absence epilepsy after the first visit. A total of 1,021 (62.9 percent) of children underwent diagnostic procedures, including long-term electroencephalogram monitoring and brain magnetic resonance imaging (77.2 and 44.5 percent, respectively). Seizure like activity and convulsions were also common diagnoses (21.6 and 15.8 percent, respectively).<\/p>\n
“For children, even a one-month delay in diagnosis and treatment can cause long-term developmental problems,” Kumar said in a statement. “Timely treatment can reduce the risk of injury and sudden unexpected death in epilepsy and help children live healthier lives.”<\/p>\n