Acute symptomatic seizures and posttraumatic epilepsy after traumatic brain injury in adults and children

Epileptic seizures after traumatic brain injury can be divided into early seizures (within 1 week after trauma) and late posttraumatic seizures (after 1 week). Immediate seizures are a subgroup of early posttraumatic seizures that occur within 24 h after the injury. The term "posttraumatic epilepsy" is used when 2 or more epileptic events are clearly associated with a cerebral trauma. Most posttraumatic seizures start within 2 years after the trauma. The severity of the head injury is related with a higher risk of early and late seizures. In general, the prophylactic use of anticonvulsant drugs is not recommended. It may be effective in reducing the frequency of early posttraumatic seizures but is not proven to influence the development of late seizures or posttraumatic epilepsy.