RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Fifteen-minute consultation: when is a seizure not a seizure? Part 1, the younger child JF Archives of disease in childhood - Education & practice edition JO Arch Dis Child Educ Pract Ed FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health SP 15 OP 20 DO 10.1136/archdischild-2015-308342 VO 101 IS 1 A1 Manish Prasad A1 Mohamed OE Babiker YR 2016 UL http://ep.bmj.com/content/101/1/15.abstract AB Paroxysmal non-epileptic events (PNEs) are common, and occur in all age groups ranging from neonates to young adults. The key to diagnosis in the majority is a detailed history and careful observation. However, a few can pose diagnostic challenges for the paediatrician to differentiate them from epileptic seizures. PNEs are usually recurrent, stereotyped and some of them tend to repeatedly occur within the same context. Although the vast majority have a benign nature, they can be a source of parental anxiety, unnecessary investigations and even potentially harmful treatments. In this review, we have described the common PNEs occurring in infants and preschool children. This will be followed by a second review for older children and adolescents. We have provided a practical diagnostic approach by dividing these events into three broad categories: PNEs associated with altered consciousness, PNEs not associated with apparently altered consciousness and sleep-related PNEs.