Research on social competence of children who undergo epilepsy surgery is limited. This cross-sectional study aimed to determine the frequency and pattern of impairments in social competence (domains: social skills, social adjustment, and social performance) in a cohort of children who underwent surgery for intractable epilepsy at a single epilepsy surgical center. In addition, we explored the relationships between social competence with epilepsy variables, surgical variables, and seizure outcomes. Fifteen children (5 to 16 years) who underwent focal cortical resection for intractable epilepsy more than 2 years ago (2.58-7.42 years) participated. Parents completed standardized, age-normed questionnaires, assessing three domains of social competence. Demographic and clinical information were obtained from parents and medical records and verified by Pediatric Neurologists and Clinical Nurse Consultant. Individual and group analyses were conducted. Seventy-three percent (n = 11/15) of children were seizure-free. Individual analyses revealed high rates of impairments (scores >1 standard deviation of the mean); 11 out of 15 children (73.3%) obtained a score that fell in the impaired range on at least one domain of social competence, with 5 of these 15 children (30.0%) obtaining impaired scores across domains. Conversely, group analyses of questionnaires completed by parents revealed that compared with norms, children had significant difficulties in all domains of social competence: social skills, social adjustment, and social performance. No significant relationships were found between domains of social competence and epilepsy and surgical variables. In conclusion, children who underwent epilepsy surgery have significantly reduced social competence relative to the norms. Longitudinal studies examining social competence pre- and postsurgery are needed to determine whether surgery improves social competence and whether this is dependent on epilepsy outcomes.

中文翻译：

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接受癫痫手术的儿童在社会能力的各个方面都存在缺陷

对接受癫痫手术的儿童社交能力的研究是有限的。这项横断面研究旨在确定在单个癫痫外科中心接受顽固性癫痫手术的儿童队列中社交能力（领域：社交技能、社交适应和社交表现）受损的频率和模式。此外，我们探讨了社交能力与癫痫变量、手术变量和癫痫发作结果之间的关系。15 名儿童（5 至 16 岁）在 2 年前（2.58-7.42 岁）因顽固性癫痫而接受局灶性皮质切除术。父母完成标准化的、以年龄为标准的问卷，评估社会能力的三个领域。人口统计学和临床​​信息来自父母和医疗记录，并由小儿神经病学家和临床护士顾问核实。进行了个体和群体分析。73% (n = 11/15) 的儿童没有癫痫发作。个别分析显示高损伤率（得分 > 平均值的 1 个标准差）；15 名儿童中有 11 名 (73.3%) 在至少一个社交能力领域的得分落在受损范围内，这 15 名儿童中有 5 名 (30.0%) 在各个领域获得了受损得分。相反，对父母完成的问卷的小组分析显示，与常态相比，儿童在社交能力的所有领域都有显着的困难：社交技能、社交适应和社交表现。在社交能力与癫痫和手术变量之间没有发现显着关系。总之，接受癫痫手术的儿童的社交能力相对于规范显着降低。需要对手术前后的社交能力进行纵向研究，以确定手术是否可以提高社交能力，以及这是否取决于癫痫结果。