Evaluation of electroencephalography abnormalities and frequency of antiepileptic use in patients with cerebral palsy

Purpose: Cerebral palsy (CP) and epilepsy are the most common neurologic disorders of the pediatric age group. This study aims to evaluate the co-existence of epilepsy and CP, abnormalities detected by electroencephalography (EEG), and the administration of anti-epileptic drugs (AED). Materials and Method: 85 patients with CP (age range 2 – 18 years) diagnosed in between January 2015 – April 2021 at the pediatric neurology clinics in Firat University Hospitals fulfilled the inclusion critria of the study and were recruited. They were grouped as patients with CP (n=30) and patients with CP + epilepsy (n=55). Patient demographics, physical examination, clinical data, EEG findings, and intracranial magnetic resonance imaging results were retrospectively recorded. Results: CP type, gross motor function classification system (GMFCS) score, EEG and MRI findings were significantly different between groups 1 and 2 (p<0.05). Among patients with spastic type CP; there were significant difference in terms of GMFCS score, prematurity low birth weight, gestational week, and EEG and MRI findings (p<0.05). CP type, GMFCS score, and EEG findings were also statistically significant between patients with or without AED use (p<0.05) Conclusion: Prematurity and low birth weight were associated with the risk of neonatal intensive care unit admissions, although they were not associated with CP or epilepsy. Spastic quadriplegia was the most common CP subtype (42.7%). The most common MRI findings were periventricular leucomalacia (24.7%) and neonatal ischemic encephalopathy (23.5%). 37.7% of patients demonstrated epileptiform EEG abnormalities, suggesting that patients with CP may develop epileptic charges without the diagnosis of epilepsy. Epileptic encephalopathy was increased in patients with GMFCS score of 4-5. Keywords: Electroencephalogram, epilepsy, gross motor function classification system, cerebral palsy.