Neonatal Seizures

( N Engl J Med . 2023;388:1692–1700. doi: 10.1056/NEJMra2300188) Seizures that occur within 4 weeks of the birth of a term infant or 44 weeks of corrected gestational age for preterm infants are defined as neonatal seizures, and the incidence is estimated at 2.29 per 1000 live births. Recent reports have described the incidence as higher among preterm infants. There are 2 classifications of neonatal seizures, epileptic, and provoked; provoked seizures are not considered epilepsy, do not require long-term treatment, and are usually attributable to hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy, stroke, or infection. This article is a review of the clinical presentation, evaluation, and treatment of neonatal seizures, along with a brief background of neonatal epilepsy syndromes and prognosis and complications of seizures in this population.