Seizures in Children

Introduction

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a blood disorder caused on a child. It is transmitted by genes from a parent. Children with SCD see an irregular hemoglobin type. In red blood cells this is the protein that brings oxygen to all areas of the body. The body organs and tissues aren't getting enough oxygen with SCD. At birth, sickle cell is present (Shenoy et al., 2016). It is genetic when a child has 2 anemia genes, 1 from each parent. It is stable when a child has only one sickle cell gene. Yet a vector of the disease is he or she. There is a greater risk that if two carriers have a child their child will have sickle cell disease. Anything that affects normal nerve cell connections inside the brain may trigger a seizure (Agarwal et al., 2018).

A seizure happens when an immense amount of the cells at the same time send out an electrical charge that can cause muscle spasms, violent trembling, loss of control, biting the lip, odd behavior, bowel movements, vomiting, drooling or foaming in the mouth and inability to stand. In this study I will determine why children have seizures at 4-12 years of age, and what are the causes. I would want to do this study because at a young age, a family member had a seizure when sleeping and I want to know what triggers it (Desnous et al., 2019). The aim is to figure out why children aged 4-12 have seizures, whether there are any drugs that could stop them. The rest of the report will present the problem statement, the literature review and methods relevant to it.

Problem Statement

Anemia from sickle cells can lead to a variety of complications such as: stroke. Sickle cells can block flow of blood to a brain area. Stroke signs include weakness or numbness of your arms and legs, sudden difficulty of speech and loss of consciousness. Reduction of the red blood cells causes anemia. Severe anemia can make a child pale and fatigued, making it more difficult for the child to bring oxygen to the tissues (Chung et al., 2016). Chronic anemia can delay the healing and normal growth and development. The problem statement that will be discussed in this research is determining the main cause of seizures, how it affects the brain. It will also include assessing the different forms of seizures.

Research Question

Why do children have seizures at the age 4-12 and what are the causes?

Literate Review

According to Badawy. (2017), Sleep disorders and seizures are considered common bedfellows. During the night, many sleep disturbances can occur taking a wide range of forms and which can resemble seizures. Even though most subtypes of seizures can occur during sleep or wakefulness, sleep has a well-documented and strong association with particular epilepsy syndromes. Whereas Desnous. (2019), Implies that Sleep seizures at 4-12 years of age appear to occur during lighter non-REM (NREM) sleep periods. The neurophysiological process involved in NREM sleep deepening could also promote both seizures and IEDs. Seizures encourage sleep disruption and have a major effect on sleep efficiency, quantity, and architecture.

In patients with epilepsy, there are many causes of sleep disruption including poor sleep hygiene, coexisting sleep disorders and circadian rhythm disruptions. Seizures can disturb sleep, even though they occur while awake. According to Poirier. (2019), Anti-epileptic drugs can both positively and negatively change sleep and these effects are exclusive of anticonvulsant acts. Excessive daytime sleepiness, increasing hallucinations and reduced quality of life are the end product of sleep disturbance. Screening for epileptic sleep disturbances and effective management approaches can contribute to enhanced overall quality of life and control over seizures. Whereas as per Madaan.(2018), seizures at 4-12 years of age can occur within 1 or 2 days of immunization, particularly if they are accompanied by fever. The child is possibly having an accidental febrile seizure in these situations.

Before a fever occurs, parents should give acetaminophen or ibuprofen when the child receives vaccinations. Kids who have a single seizure after immunization usually may receive additional immunizations. According to Sartori. (2017), Many childhood seizures at 4-12 years of age are transient, meaning they are brief occurrences that do not extend into adulthood, and generally the development and intelligence of the child is normal. Some seizures are severe and are frequently related to developmental disability or academic handicap and frequent seizures. Also, according to Valente. (2017), Febrile seizures happens when a child has a condition such as fever-accompanied ear infection, cold, or varicose veins. The most common form of seizure seen in children is the febrile seizures. Two to five percent of children in their infancy have a febrile seizure at some stage.

It is not clear why many children have fever seizures but many risk factors have been identified. As per Chung. (2016), acute convulsions are the most severe symptoms. The boy, aged 4-12, can experience rhythmic jerking and muscle spasms, often with difficulties in breathing and rolling eyes. After the seizure the child is still tired and confused and often does not recall the seizure. This group of symptoms is typical with seizures of the grand mal (generalized) and febrile. Also as per Nielsen. (2018), Seizures can trigger a variety of conditions and substances. Common causes involve congenital brain abnormalities, unauthorized use of drugs, fever, brain tumors and metabolic imbalances such as high glucose or sodium levels. Epilepsy is a disease in which, due to an overall electrical imbalance in the brain, a person experiences frequent seizures.

According to Kozlowska. (2018), First-line treatment includes valproic acid lamotrigine and topiramate for generalized tonic-clonic seizures whereas according to Kozlowska. (2018), effective first-line medicines include carbamazepine , phenytoin , oxcarbazepine , and ethosuximide , particularly in children. Additionally, in very young children phenobarbital is also the drug of choice for seizures. Also according to Agarwal. (2018), Phenobarbital is the epilepsy drug of choice in children 4-12 years of age. Conversely, use of valproic acid (Depakene, Depakote) in children under 2 must be avoided, because there is an increased risk of liver insufficiency. The risk is decreasing the older a child becomes.

Many widely used child seizure drugs include phenytoin (Dilantin) and carbamazepine (Tegretol). According to Chen. (2019), Since seizure medicines function in the central nervous system, the majority of them cause a degree of drowsiness or dizziness, at least at the beginning of the treatment. However, several anti-seizure drugs can trigger suicidal thoughts or acts, and/or cause depression, or make it worse. Seizure drugs contain a number of potential side effects. The following is a list of potential side effects of different types of seizure medicines.

Methodology

Secondary research methodology was chosen for the analysis to be determined. The chosen methodology is exploratory and concise. Architecture of the descriptive analysis refers to an analytical technique which uses qualitative data. The research method works by identifying the perception characteristic of a particular event or phenomenon but is unable to answer specific issues related to the event. Another type of methodology suited to this thesis is the exploratory research process (Jebb et al., 2017). This approach to the analysis can help to clarify a specific case and also answer related concerns. In addition, this research design will also assist in drawing a clear conclusion on a research issue.

The exploratory research design would encourage the use of qualitative data collection methods while the use of qualitative and secondary data collection tools would assist with descriptive research design. In this research paper, the researcher chose exploratory research architecture, as it would be appropriate for the use of main and secondary data collection instruments as well as qualitative and quantitative data types. The methods of study used in this review were quantitative research processes. Qualitative data was chosen for this research study, and analyzed for this report (Kozlowska et al., 2018). This work explored the explanation for the incidence of seizures in children between the ages of 4-12 and examined the causes. To study the analysis the inductive approach was chosen. Inductive method of analysis is also referred to as theoretical method, since this technique enables the researcher to move from a specific finding to a broad hypothesis, as a result of which the conclusion made is also general.

The methodology of inductive analysis is commonly used in research where the researcher has chosen to use secondary techniques to gather data. Data Collection Plan-Methodology chapter of a research review involves various chapters such as research design, research theory, research methodology, etc. However, selection of the data collection technique or data collection tool is the most crucial section of the study approach section. It is important to choose the data collection method carefully, since the research results are dependent on this choice (Madaan et al., 2018). Furthermore, it should also be stated here that the technique of data collection should be carefully selected to ensure that the correct number and relevant data are collected according to the study question.

For this research review, the data collection methods accessible to the researcher include, interview procedure, case study, library resources; books and journal articles; and system of observation. Library resources; like papers and books, this review may also provide a theoretical context for the research issue that aligns it with the research problem. Besides this, it must also be noted here that the use library resources are used to create a basis and theoretical framework for this research.

References

Agarwal, R., & Shahid, A. (2018). Psychogenic Nonepileptic Seizures in Children with Epilepsy. Journal of Pediatric Epilepsy, 7(03), 106-110.

Badawy, M. K., Dayan, P. S., Tunik, M. G., Nadel, F. M., Lillis, K. A., Miskin, M., ... & Holmes, J. F. (2017). Prevalence of brain injuries and recurrence of seizures in children with posttraumatic seizures. Academic emergency medicine, 24(5), 595-605.

Chung, M. G., & O’Brien, N. F. (2016). Prevalence of early posttraumatic seizures in children with moderate to severe traumatic brain injury despite levetiracetam prophylaxis. Pediatric critical care medicine, 17(2), 150-156.

Chen, Y. F. E., Wang, C. Y., Chiu, C. H., Kong, S. S., Chang, Y. J., & Chen, S. Y. (2019). Molecular epidemiology and clinical characteristics of norovirus gastroenteritis with seizures in children in Taiwan, 2006–2015. Medicine, 98(40).

Desnous, B., Lenoir, M., Doussau, A., Marandyuk, B., Beaulieu-Genest, L., Poirier, N., ... & Birca, A. (2019). Epilepsy and seizures in children with congenital heart disease: a prospective study. Seizure, 64, 50-53. https://www.emedicinehealth.com/seizures_in_children/article_em.htm https://www.rxlist.com/seizure_medications/drug-class.htm

Jebb, A. T., Parrigon, S., & Woo, S. E. (2017). Exploratory data analysis as a foundation of inductive research. Human Resource Management Review, 27(2), 265-276.

Kozlowska, K., Chudleigh, C., Cruz, C., Lim, M., McClure, G., Savage, B., ... & Gill, D. (2018). Psychogenic non-epileptic seizures in children and adolescents: Part I–Diagnostic formulations. Clinical child psychology and psychiatry, 23(1), 140-159.

Kozlowska, K., Chudleigh, C., Cruz, C., Lim, M., McClure, G., Savage, B., ... & Gill, D. (2018). Psychogenic non-epileptic seizures in children and adolescents: Part II–explanations to families, treatment, and group outcomes. Clinical child psychology and psychiatry, 23(1), 160-176.

Madaan, P., Gulati, S., Chakrabarty, B., Sapra, S., Sagar, R., Mohammad, A., ... & Tripathi, M. (2018). Clinical spectrum of psychogenic non epileptic seizures in children; an observational study. Seizure, 59, 60-66.

Nielsen, E. S., Wichaidit, B. T., Østergaard, J. R., & Rask, C. U. (2018). Paediatricians' attitudes to and management of functional seizures in children. European Journal of Paediatric Neurology, 22(5), 774-781.

Sartori, S., Tessarin, G., Bergamo, S., Parata, F., Nosadini, M., Boniver, C., ... & Perilongo, G. (2017). Epidemiology of first convulsive seizures in children. European Journal of Paediatric Neurology, 21, e159.

Shenoy, S., Eapen, M., Panepinto, J. A., Logan, B. R., Wu, J., Abraham, A., ... & Kasow, K. A. (2016). A trial of unrelated donor marrow transplantation for children with severe sickle cell disease. Blood, The Journal of the American Society of Hematology, 128(21), 2561-2567.

Valente, K. D., Alessi, R., Vincentiis, S., dos Santos, B., & Rzezak, P. (2017). Risk factors for diagnostic delay in psychogenic nonepileptic seizures among children and adolescents. Pediatric neurology, 67, 71-77.

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