A spell in the epilepsy clinic and a history of chronic pain or fibromyalgia independently predict a diagnosis of psychogenic seizures

The clinical suspicion for psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES) is based on multiple features obtained in the history. We reviewed the records of all patients evaluated over 5 years in a single epilepsy clinic for refractory seizures who eventually underwent EEG/video monitoring. We designated two groups: (1) patients with a diagnosis of fibromyalgia or chronic pain and (2) patients who had a seizure during the visit, either in the waiting area or in the examining room. Of 36 patients with fibromyalgia or chronic pain, 27 (75%) were found to have PNES. Of 13 patients who had a seizure during their clinic visit, 10 (75%) were found to have PNES. We conclude that each of these findings has a predictive value of 75%. (C) 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.