Development of a Risk Predictive Scoring System for Epilepsy in Infants with Paroxysmal Motor Events: A Retrospective Single-Center Study

Purpose: Paroxysmal motor events are common clinical symptoms in infants visiting pediatric neurology clinics. Due to the heterogeneous clinical symptoms and the difficulty of interpreting electroencephalography (EEG) in infants, differentiating paroxysmal motor events from epileptic events is challenging. This study aimed to investigate the risk factors for the diagnosis of epilepsy in infants and to develop a scoring system that predicts the risk of epilepsy. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed data from patients who presented with paroxysmal motor events in infancy between January 2008 and December 2009 at Asan Medical Center. Electronic medical records were reviewed for patients’ demographics, medical history, clinical characteristics associated with specific situations, and motor symptoms. Laboratory findings, EEG, and brain magnetic resonance imaging were also reviewed. Results: In total, 111 infants with paroxysmal motor events were enrolled. Non-epileptic paroxysmal motor events (NEPMs) were associated with specific situations ( P <0.001). Patients with epilepsy were likely to have focal motor symptoms ( P =0.08), a medical history of a neurologic disorder, and/or a family history of epilepsy ( P <0.05). A risk scoring system was developed based on these risk factors; using this system, infants with 2 or more points could be diagnosed with epilepsy with 61.76% sensitivity and 88.31% specificity. Conclusion: Infants with paroxysmal motor events were more likely to be diagnosed with NEPMs than with epilepsy. An absence of specific situations for paroxysmal events, focal motor seizures, and a medical history of another illness were associated with the final diagnosis of epilepsy.