An 8-year-old boy is brought to the emergency department 3 hours after having a 2-minute episode of violent, jerky movements of his arms at school. He was sweating profusely during the episode and lost consciousness. . When asked about any other abnormal behaviors, she says that her son often stares into space and does not respond to questions during these episodes. There is no family history of serious illness. His temperature is 37.0°C (98.6°F), pulse is 98/min, and blood pressure is 94/54 mm Hg. Physical and neurologic examinations show no abnormalities. A complete blood count and serum concentrations of glucose, electrolytes, calcium, and creatinine are within the reference range. Which of the following agents is the best long-term treatment for this patient?

Question

An 8-year-old boy is brought to the emergency department 3 hours after having a 2-minute episode of violent, jerky movements of his arms at school. He was sweating profusely during the episode and lost consciousness. .  When asked about any other abnormal behaviors, she says that her son often stares into space and does not respond to questions during these episodes. There is no family history of serious illness. His temperature is 37.0°C (98.6°F), pulse is 98/min, and blood pressure is 94/54 mm Hg. Physical and neurologic examinations show no abnormalities. A complete blood count and serum concentrations of glucose, electrolytes, calcium, and creatinine are within the reference range. Which of the following agents is the best long-term treatment for this patient?

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Eductional Objective: Older children with absence seizures may also develop generalized onset tonic-clonic or myoclonic seizures.  Although ethosuximide is effective against isolated absence seizures, it is not effective for tonic-clonic seizures.  Valproic acid is a broad-spectrum antiepileptic that treats both types of seizures.

An 8-Year-Old Boy Is Brought to the Emergency Department 3