Document Type

Article

Original Publication Date

2012

Journal/Book/Conference Title

BMC Pediatrics

DOI of Original Publication

10.1186/1471-2431-12-108

Comments

Originally published at http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1471-2431-12-108

Date of Submission

August 2014

Abstract

Background Infantile spasms (IS; West syndrome) is a severe form of encephalopathy that typically affects infants younger than 2 years old. Pediatricians, pediatric neurologists, and other pediatric health care providers are all potentially key early contacts for families who have an infant with IS. The objective of this article is to assist pediatric health care providers in the detection of the disease and in the counseling and guidance of families who have an infant with IS.

Methods Treatment guidelines, consensus reports, and original research studies are reviewed to provide an update regarding the diagnosis and treatment of infants with IS. Web sites were searched for educational and supportive resource content relevant to providers and families of patients with IS.

Results Early detection of IS and pediatrician referral to a pediatric neurologist for further evaluation and initiation of treatment may improve prognosis. Family education and the establishment of a multidisciplinary continuum of care are important components of care for the majority of patients with IS. The focus of the continuum of care varies across diagnosis, initiation of treatment, and short- and long-term needs. Several on-line educational and supportive resources for families and caregivers of patients with IS were identified.

Conclusions Given the possibility of poor developmental outcomes in IS, including the emergence of other seizure disorders and cognitive and developmental problems, early recognition, referral, and treatment of IS are important for optimal patient outcomes. Dissemination of and access to educational and supportive resources for families and caregivers across the lifespan of the child with IS is an urgent need. Pediatric health care providers are well positioned to address these needs.

Rights

© 2012 Wheless et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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VCU Neurology Publications

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