A case report of ictal psychosis diagnosed in childhood period

Abstract

Epilepsy is the most common neurological disorder of childhood. Cognitive and behavioral changes in patients with epilepsy may be associated with psychiatric disorders and even these complaints may purely be evaluated as a psychiatric disorder. In cases without clinical seizure epilepsy may be diagnosed just with psychiatric symptoms. Psychiatric symptoms in childhood epilepsy are rarely reported in the literature. Epileptic psychosis involves a group of disorder associated with epileptic seizures. Interictal psychosis, postictal psychosis and alternative psychosis are included in this group. Ictal psychosis which is closely related to the activation of seizures may be prevented by seizure control and all forms of epileptic psychosis requires a sophisticated intervention.We did not come across any case report other than a child with ictal psychosis and an adolesecent with interictal pyschosis in our local literature. By this report, based on a case without an epileptic seizure in whom diagnosis of epilepsy is made by psychiatric symptoms, we aimed to present the clinical aspects of psychosis and emphasize the importance of combining detailed anamnesis, physical and neurological examination with appropriate investigations through the diagnostic course.