INTRODUCTION: The relationship between epilepsy and sleep has been recognized many years. Sleep disturbances and epilepsy are pathological conditions of raise prevalence in the general population, particularly in infancy, childhood and adolescence. The aim of this study was to compare the sleep behavior in children from seven to 15 years-old with controlled epilepsy and refractory epilepsy. METHODS: The scale "Sleep Behavior Questionnaire", translated and validated for Portuguese language, was applied to all patients with controlled epilepsy and refractory epilepsy who attended the Pediatric Neurology Department of Hospital Pequeno Príncipe between April and September 2007. RESULTS: The 46 patients were divided into 2 groups, which consisted of 24 with controlled epilepsy (Group 1) and 22 with refractory epilepsy (Group 2). Mann-Whitney statistical test was applied and a significant statistical difference (p=0,000) was evidenced between the index of sleep behavior of the two groups, the equality of sleep being considered worse in the patients with refractory epilepsy. CONCLUSION: The data showed the children from seven to 15 years-old with refractory epilepsy have worse quality of sleep than children with controlled epilepsy.
Sleep behavior; refractory epilepsy
