Epigraph Vol. 10 Issue 1, Winter 2007-2008

1st Pediatric Epilepsy Workshop, Kathmandu: A Report

The 1st Pediatric Epilepsy Workshop in Nepal was held in Kathmandu on Saturday, 29 September 2007. It was organized jointly by the Nepal Epilepsy Society and Asian Epilepsy Academy (ASEPA), ILAE.

Dr Nandita Bajaj, a pediatrician with a keen interest in pediatric epilepsy was the organizing secretary in Kathmandu and the patron was Prof JP Agrawal, President, Nepal Epilepsy Society. Dr Simon Harvey, Past Secretary of ASEPA was coordinating the workshop.

The speakers were eminent pediatric epileptologists Prof Shinichi Hirose (Fukuoka, Japan), Prof Ong Lai-Choo (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), Dr Vrajesh Udani (Mumbai, India) and  Dr Simon Harvey (Melbourne, Australia). The workshop was attended by 124 delegates comprised predominantly of pediatricians, adult neurologists and a few neurosurgeons, psychiatrists and general physicians. Presentations included an overview of epileptic seizures and syndromes, differential diagnosis of seizures, febrile seizures, idiopathic partial epilepsies, idiopathic generalized epilepsies, symptomatic partial epilepsies, symptomatic generalized epilepsies, clinical EEG/imaging assessment of seizures, and drug treatment of epilepsy. Surgical and dietary treatments were touched on briefly. Dr Bajaj gave a brief presentation on the spectrum of epileptic syndromes and etiologies in Nepal.

The workshop  was a great success and was highly appreciated by all of the delegates. The excellent video demonstrations of seizures accompanying the lectures were highly appreciated and helped a great deal in enhancing understanding of different  seizure types.

Overall the workshop has been highly successful in stimulating awareness about pediatric epilepsy in Nepal.

We are extremely grateful to ILAE, ASEPA for sponsoring this excellent workshop.

Nandita Bajaj
Organizing Secretary