Physiognomies of seizure in psychiatric patients: A Retrospective study
Saeed Shoja Shafti, Alireza Memarie, Masomeh Rezaie and Masomeh Hamidi
Introduction: Behavioral and cognitive dysfunction is frequently observed in patients with recurrent
seizures and represents an important challenge in treating these patients. In the present assessment
the incidence and clinical profile of seizure attacks have been probed among a great sample of nonwestern psychiatric inpatients and compared with the available data in literature regarding prevalence
and other associated clinical physiognomies. Methods: All inpatients that had suffered seizure attack
during the last sixty-four months had been included in the present study. Clinical diagnosis, as well,
was in essence based on Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition (DSM-5).
Results: While epilepsy had been identified as the primary cause of seizure (82.92%), 17.64% of them
had experienced their first attacks during hospitalization. Annual incidence of seizure in psychiatric
inpatients, on the whole, was around 0.07%. It was almost 0.06 in identified epileptic cases and
about 0.01% with respect to the first time unprovoked epileptic attack. Also, the seizure attacks were
significantly more prevalent among male psychiatric inpatients than female patients. Schizophrenia
and bipolar disorder were significantly more prevalent than substance abuse, schizoaffective and
depression, as comorbid psychiatric disorders among patients who had suffered seizure attacks,
generally, and known cases of epilepsy, particularly. Conclusion: While, etiologically, epilepsy had
been identified as the primary cause of seizure in psychiatric inpatients, schizophrenia and bipolar
disorder were significantly more prevalent, as comorbid psychiatric disorders, in comparison with
other primary psychiatric illnesses. Male gender, as well, could be considered as a risk factor.
