ObjectiveTo investigate the clinical feature, prognosis and prognostic factors of early post-traumatic seizures in children. MethodsRetrospective review was performed on 101 individuals with early post-traumatic seizures (EPTS) who were diagnosed in Department of Neurosurgery in Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University from January 2008 to June 2013. The record was collected, which included patient's demographics, clinical and radiological presentation, management, and follow-up results of 12 months. The individuals were divided into late post-traumatic seizures (LPTS) group and control group according to the occurrence of LPTS or not. The SAS 9.2 was used for statistical analysis. ResultsDuring 101 cases in our study, male accounted for 60.4%, female accounted for 39.6%, and the ratio was 1.5 to 1. The percentage of patients who were under 6 years old was 74.3%, and the number of cases decreased with age. The peak time of EPTS was within 24 hours after traumatic brain injury. 55.4% of EPTS was the generalized seizures, 34.7% was the partial seizures, and 9.9% was the partial seizures and evolved to secondarily generalized seizures. The incidence of LPTS observed in our study was 26.7% within 12 months follow-up. The electroencephalogram displayed epileptiform discharges in 3 individuals who were without epileptic seizures. There was statistically significant difference in group LPTS compared to control group on these factors which included GSC score≤8(P=0.0064), complicated necrencephalus and/or encephalatrophy(P < 0.0001), multiple brain injuries(P=0.0210), subdural hemorrhage(P=0.0151) and intracranial operation(P=0.0029). The age, history, epileptic seizure type of EPTS, brain contusion, skull fracture and the early use of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) had no statistically significant difference between LPTS group and control group(P > 0.05). ConclusionsEPTS is prone to occur in children under 6 years old. Male is obviously more than female, and the ratio is 1.5:1. The peak time of EPTS is within 24 hours after traumatic brain injury and most of EPTS are generalized seizures. The incidence of LPTS in children with EPTS exceeds those previously reported. Periodical electroencephalogram examination is essential to decrease the missed diagnosis of LPTS. The GSC score≤8 and complicated necrencephalus and/or encephalatrophy will dramaticlly increase the risk of LPTS. Multiple brain injuries, subdural hemorrhage and intracranial operation are also risk factors for the prognosis of EPTS. Although the use of AEDs is unable to decrease the incidence of LPTS after 12 months follow-up, it is probably beneficial to improving the cognition and brain development. The controversial finding in our study is whether intracranial operation can influence the prognosis of EPTS or not.