Epilepsy in Children With Central Nervous System Infections: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

p class=cvGsUA direction-ltr align-justify para-style-body style=text-align: justify;span class=aGcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-noneIn childhood, infections of the central nervous system may lead to neurodevelopmental disorders and complications such as epilepsy. The present study aimed to evaluate epilepsy in children with central nervous system (CNS) infections. /spanspan class=aGcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-noneThe present systematic review and meta-analysis included five cohort studies from international databases, PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Embase, from January 1, 2010, to May 10, 2025, using keywords aligned with the study objective. The statistical analysis was performed using Stata/MP v17 and a random-effect model. /spanspan class=aGcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-noneThe risk ratio of epilepsy in children with etiologically diagnosed CNS infections was 0. 23 (ES = 0. 23; 95% CI 0. 01 to 0. 45; I/spanspan class=aGcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none font-size-modifier vertical-align2/spanspan class=aGcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none = 99. 52%, P lt; 0. 05). /spanspan class=aGcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-noneBased on the results of the present study, there is a high risk of epilepsy associated with brain infections. /span/p