Experience the Clinical Debate: AGAINST- Is it Necessary to Establish a Diagnosis of Either Focal or Generalised Epilepsy during First Diagnosis?

Understanding the classification of epileptic seizures is the first step towards the correct diagnosis, treatment and prognostication of the condition. In few cases, the diverse range of seizures gives rise to diagnostic challenges .The classification process, especially in children is time consuming and raises demands for complementary investigations. Whether a distinction between a focal or generalised epilepsy is important to decide the treatment modality after first seizure is debatable. The following discussion throws some light against this controversial issue stating that since differentiation of seizures can only be made in about half of the cases, treatment could be initiated with a well-accepted broad spectrum antiepileptic drug.