Abstract OBJECTIVE: To study the features of interictal epileptiform discharges (IED) during sleep and wakefulness in children with epilepsy.METHODS: The polysomnography, active EEG and video EEG were performed on 48 children with epilepsy during the whole night, and wakefulness of pre- and post-sleep. The epileptiform sharp/spike discharge indexes during sleep and wakefulness were recorded. The positive rate of IED in focal and generalized epilepsy was compared.RESULTS: Of the 48 patients, 25 showed IED, including 9 cases (36.0%) in the generalized seizure group and 16 cases（64.0%） in the focal seizure group（P<0.05）. The epileptiform sharp/spike discharge indexes in the whole non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep stage (stages S1-S4: 21.13±19.96, 19.59±17.76, 22.85±18.99, and 20.37±16.63) were significantly higher than that in the wakefulness stage (8.20±6.21) (P<0.05). The discharge index in the S3 stage during NREM sleep was higher than that during the rapid eye movement (REM) sleep (22.85±18.99 vs 12.91±10.95; P<0.05).CONCLUSIONS: The positive rate of IED in the focal seizure group was higher than that in the generalized seizure group. Sleep, especially NREM sleep, facilitates IED in children with epilepsy.
