Reflex seizures induced by micturition: a case report

TL;DR

A rare case of seizures triggered by urination in an 8-year-old girl is reported, highlighting the need for greater awareness of this unusual condition.

Contribution

This case report adds to the limited understanding of micturition-induced reflex seizures and emphasizes their clinical recognition.

Findings

An 8-year-old girl experienced generalized tonic-clonic seizures triggered by micturition, diagnosed as reflex seizures.

Literature review suggests micturition-induced seizures may involve excessive neuronal excitation in relevant brain regions.

The case underscores the rarity and under-recognition of micturition-induced reflex seizures among clinicians.

Abstract

Reflex seizures (RS) induced by micturition are extremely rare, and the clinical and electroencephalogram features of RS are not widely known among clinicians. In particular, the origin of the epileptic area is still unclear.

An 8-year-old girl who had generalized tonic-clonic seizures was diagnosed with RS induced by micturition based on the clinical manifestation and EEG recordings. We also reviewed the clinical and EEG characteristics of RS induced by micturition in literature by searching the databases of PubMed and MEDLINE using keywords “micturition reflex seizure”, “reflex seizure induced by micturition”, and “micturition induced seizure” by January 2022. We speculate that the mechanism of micturition-induced RS may involve excessive neuronal excitation in regions that participate in micturition.

The RS in this patient was considered to be induced by micturition. Awareness should be raised to this rare form of RS among practitioners.

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