Seizures, medical child abuse, and the pediatric neurologist

Abstract

Previously known as Munchausen syndrome by proxy, medical child abuse is a form of child maltreatment whereby the caregiver creates an environment in which medical care harms or threatens the wellbeing of a child. Approximately 40-50 % of medical child abuse cases involve neurological symptoms, with fabricated or induced seizures accounting for a significant proportion. Identifying fictitious seizures is often difficult even for the most experienced clinicians. Therefore, having a low threshold for clinical suspicion is essential in the timely diagnosis of medical child abuse. This article provides a review of the epidemiology, diagnosis, and management of medical child abuse when it involves seizures.