Applicability of the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) 2022 diagnostic criteria for epilepsy syndromes in children: A retrospective review of 1550 children with epilepsy.

OBJECTIVE: Recently, the ILAE Nosology and Definitions Task Force defined diagnostic criteria for epilepsy syndromes. There is paucity of data on the use of these new diagnostic criteria in children with epilepsy, and how these criteria may lead to changes from previous practice.

METHODS: This was a retrospective chart review of data of children attending the epilepsy clinic in a tertiary care children's hospital from January 2011 to January 2023. The clinical details such as age at onset, types of seizures, co-morbidities, and results of EEG, MRI and genetic testing were reviewed. Epilepsy syndrome diagnosis was made as per the ILAE 2022 criteria, and compared with the previous syndrome diagnosis as per records.

RESULTS: Data from 1550 children (63 % boys) with epilepsy were analysed, and 55.4 % children were classified to have epilepsy syndromes as per the new ILAE 2022 diagnostic criteria. Application of the new 2022 ILAE diagnostic criteria was associated with a change in name alone in 676 (77.8 %) children. Hundred (11.5 %) children were newly classified under an epilepsy syndrome who had previously remained unclassified. Eleven (1.3 %) children who were previously classified into an epilepsy syndrome could not be classified using the new diagnostic criteria. Eight (0.9 %) were shifted to a new syndromic category. Overall, change in diagnosis occurred in 13.7 (11.5 + 1.3 + 0.9)%. No change in epilepsy syndrome classification/nomenclature occurred in 74 (8.5 %) children.

SIGNIFICANCE: The new diagnostic criteria led to an overall change in diagnosis in 13.7 % of children with epilepsy. These criteria will hopefully lead to uniformity in diagnosis of epilepsy syndromes across diverse settings.