Children with CHD may be at increased risk for epilepsy. While the incidence of perioperative seizures after surgical repair of CHD has been well-described, the incidence of epilepsy is less well-defined. We aim to determine the incidence and predictors of epilepsy in patients with CHD.

Retrospective cohort study of patients with CHD who underwent cardiopulmonary bypass at <2 years of age between January, 2012 and December, 2013 and had at least 2 years of follow-up. Clinical variables were extracted from a cardiac surgery database and hospital records. Seizures were defined as acute if they occurred within 7 days after an inciting event. Epilepsy was defined based on the International League Against Epilepsy criteria.

Two-hundred and twenty-one patients were identified, 157 of whom were included in our analysis. Five patients (3.2%) developed epilepsy. Acute seizures occurred in 12 (7.7%) patients, only one of whom developed epilepsy. Predictors of epilepsy included an earlier gestational age, a lower birth weight, a greater number of cardiac surgeries, a need for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation or a left ventricular assist device, arterial ischaemic stroke, and a longer hospital length of stay.

Epilepsy in children with CHD is rare. The mechanism of epileptogenesis in these patients may be the result of a complex interaction of patient-specific factors, some of which may be present even before surgery. Larger long-term follow-up studies are needed to identify risk factors associated with epilepsy in these patients.