1043-3155 Pediatr Neurol Briefs pedneurbriefs Pediatr Neurol Briefs Pediatric Neurology Briefs Pediatr Neurol Briefs 2166-6482 1043-3155 2166-3155 Pediatric Neurology Briefs Publishers Chicago, IL, USA PNB-9-60-a 10.15844/pedneurbriefs-9-8-5 Seizure Disorders Neurology Pediatrics Nervous System Diseases Child Development Brain Diseases Neurosurgery Child Infant Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia and Seizures http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0173-7931 Millichap J. Gordon MD 1 2 * Division of Neurology, Children's Memorial Hospital, Chicago, IL Departments of Pediatrics and Neurology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL Correspondence: Dr. J. Gordon Millichap, E-mail: jgmillichap@northwestern.edu 08 1995 01 06 2016 9 8 60 60 Copyright: © 1995 The Author(s) 1995 This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Prognosis and treatment of seizures in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia

The incidence, timing, etiologies, and recurrence rate of seizures among 127 pediatric patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) were determined at the Schneider Children’s Hospital, and the Long Island Jewish Medical Center, New York.

 Lymphoblastic Leukemia Intrathecal Methotrexate Chemotherapy

The incidence, timing, etiologies, and recurrence rate of seizures among 127 pediatric patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) were determined at the Schneider Children’s Hospital, and the Long Island Jewish Medical Center, New York. Of 17 patients (13%) who developed one or more seizures, 16 had seizures during antileukemic treatment, almost always related to intrathecal methotrexate or subcutaneous L-asparaginase. The long-term recurrence risk of seizures was low, occurring only in 2 patients (12%) who had static encephalopathy and neurologic deficits. Chronic antiepileptic drug therapy was restricted to patients with recurrent seizures and structural cerebral lesions. [1]

COMMENT. Seizures occurring in children with ALL in this study were related to side-effects of chemotherapy. None had seizures secondary to CNS leukemic relapse. Phenytoin was the drug of choice for the control of the acute seizures because of its relative lack of behavioral and sedative adverse effects. Carbamazepine and valproate were avoided because of potential bone marrow suppression and the lack of intravenous preparations.

 Maytal J Grossman R Yusuf FH Shende AC Karayalycin G Lanzkowsky P Prognosis and treatment of seizures in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia Epilepsia 1995 Aug 36 8 831 836 10.1111/j.1528-1157.1995.tb01622.x 7635103