Partial complex seizure

Alternative names:

complex seizure; seizure - complex

Symptoms:

• consciousness changes (very common)
• confusion, disorientation
• decreased awareness/alertness
• lack of concentration
• loss of judgment
• delirium (rare)
• automatisms (complex, purposeless movements such as picking at clothing)
  • abnormal behaviors
  • may appear drowsy or intoxicated
  • normal activities (such as eating or driving) may continue automatically

• sensory hallucinations
  • smell, impaired (somewhat common)
  • abnormal taste (somewhat common)
  • visual hallucinations
  • auditory (hearing) hallucinations

• recalled emotion (somewhat common)
• sense of unreality
• sense of deja vu
• abdominal pain or discomfort
• nausea
• sweating
• flushed face
• dilated pupils (eyes)
• rapid heart rate/pulse
• chest pain
• difficulty breathing, absent breathing
• changes in vision, speech, thinking, awareness, personality
• complex hallucinations or illusions
• a loss of memory (amnesia) regarding events surrounding the seizure (very common)

Note: Symptoms commonly persist for longer than 15 seconds.

Signs and tests:

The diagnosis is based primarily on the symptoms presented. The diagnosis of the cause begins with a complete physical examination, including detailed neuromuscular examination.

• An EEG may show characteristic changes compatible with partial seizures, and may show the focus (the location of the cause) in the temporal or frontal lobe of the brain.
• A head CT or head MRI scan may show the location and extent of the lesion causing the symptoms.