Book Review: Childhood Epilepsy: Management fromDiagnosis to RemissionEdited by Richard Appleton and Peter CamfieldCambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011£35.00 (Paperback), pp 166ISBN: 978-0-521-76325-7

There are over 800 books on epilepsy that have beenpublished during the past 4 years, so each new book on thistopic faces a challenge to justify its existence. ChildhoodEpilepsy: Management from Diagnosis to Remission meets thischallenge admirably. It is a concise book that offers guidancenot only on initial diagnosis and treatment but also,importantly, on the longer-term management of childhoodepilepsy and its comorbidities through to remission or transferto adult services.

Three core chapters cover epilepsy beginning in infancy,middle childhood, and adolescence. The main epilepsies andepilepsy syndromes in each age group are well described.Advice on management not only addresses seizure treatmentbut also the psychosocial and cognitive implications of epi-lepsy as well as family adjustment. Of particular value is theguidance on first, second, and subsequent lines of treatmentfor intractable epilepsies, with advice on when to refer tomore specialist colleagues. The section on transfer to adultservices in the adolescence chapter is especially useful, andconsiders two broad categories of adolescents: those with rel-atively normal intelligence and those with significant learningdifficulties.

There are additional, helpful chapters on more generalaspects of epilepsy that cover diagnosis, risks and hazards, andstatus epilepticus (both convulsive and non-convulsive). Achapter on prevention begins by considering how some epilep-sies might be avoided altogether and then moves on to discuss

avoidance of an incorrect diagnosis of epilepsy or inappropri-ate choice of medication. These cautionary themes are devel-oped further in the final medico-legal chapter. For its size, thisbook offers a great deal of information on the management ofchildhood epilepsy. Of course, it does not pretend to provide acomprehensive account of epilepsy and so discussion of patho-physiology, genetics, classification, and controversies in man-agement needs to be sought elsewhere, although these issuesare all touched on in the book.

An author from North America has been paired with onefrom the UK for each chapter and whilst the principles of epi-lepsy management are universal, local differences are covered(such as preferred first- and second-line medication, or infor-mation about national guidelines and support groups). Practi-cal tips from the experienced authors shine through incomments such as the oldest female relative usually gives thebest family history, children may describe the onset of seizuresin benign childhood epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes(BECTS) as a fizzing of the tongue, and a warning that thebenefit of identifying epilepsy syndromes does not justifybending the criteria to squeeze in a diagnosis.

This book is intended for general paediatricians responsiblefor the care of children with epilepsy – but it is also relevant toneurodisability paediatricians and ought to serve as a usefulintroduction to epilepsy management for paediatric neurolo-gists in training. The emphasis on practical guidance throughto remission or transfer to adult services makes this a welcomebook that should be greatly appreciated by its target audience.

John GibbsCountess of Chester NHS Foundation Trust Hospital – Paediatrics,Chester, UK.

doi: 10.1111/j.1469-8749.2012.04344.x

ª The Author. Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology ª 2012 Mac Keith Press 1