Improvement in Behavioral Problems in Children with Intractable Epilepsy Using the Child Behavior Checklist after Surgical Intervention

Abstract

To evaluate the effect of surgical intervention on behavioral problems and mood disorders in children with intractable epilepsy, we examined 21 children using the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) before and after surgery, considering the classification of the seizure outcome and type of epilepsy. CBCL for children aged 2 to 3 years was used for 5 subjects, of which 4 became seizure free, T scores of CBCL showed improvement in the subscales "Development" and "Attention/Concentration" in these 4 subjects. The 5^th case with persistent seizures showed T scores worse than those before surgery. The other 16 cases were evaluated using CBCL for children aged 4 to 18 years. Of these, 12 became seizure free, and T scores showed significant improvement in the subscales "Thought problems", "Attention problems", "Delinquent behavior", "Aggressive behavior", "Externalizing" and "Total problems". In the remaining 4 cases with residual seizures, T scores for "Externalizing" and "Total problems" improved. Subscale scores were improved significantly for "Externalizing" and "Total problems" in temporal lobe epilepsy patients and for "Total problems" in parietal lobe epilepsy patients. Our results suggest that surgical intervention of intractable epilepsy is helpful for improving not only control of seizures but also behavioral problems.