Risk of Recurrent Seizures after Two Unprovoked Seizures

• Published in: The New England journal of medicine Vol. 338; no. 7; pp. 429 - 434
• Main Authors: Hauser, W. Allen, Rich, Stephen S, Lee, Ju R.-J, Annegers, John F, Anderson, V. Elving
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Boston, MA Massachusetts Medical Society 12-02-1998
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Biological and medical sciences; Epilepsy; Epilepsy - diagnosis; Epilepsy - epidemiology; Female; Headache. Facial pains. Syncopes. Epilepsia. Intracranial hypertension. Brain oedema. Cerebral palsy; Humans; Male; Medical research; Medical sciences; Nervous system; Nervous system (semeiology, syndromes); Neurology; Prospective Studies; Recurrence; Risk; Risk Factors; Seizures - epidemiology; Human; Prospective; Nervous system diseases; Mail inquiry; Relapse; Epilepsy; Central nervous system disease; Risk factor; Epidemiology; Cerebral disorder
• ISSN: 0028-4793; 1533-4406
• DOI: 10.1056/NEJM199802123380704

Many studies have examined the risk of recurrence of seizures.
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The wide variation found in the risk of recurrence among those who have had a first seizure seems to be explained by differences in study design or differences in the characteristics of the study groups. Overall, about 35 percent of patients with a first seizure can be expected to have a second within the subsequent three to five years, although the risk varies from less than 20 percent to 100 percent, depending on clinical characteristics.
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The majority of those with newly recognized epilepsy have many seizures before diagnosis. . . .