Objective: To give a characterization of the antecedent risks of a group of patients meeting the criteria for difficult-to-control epilepsy in Fundacion Hospital de la Misericordia (Bogota-Colombia). Materials and Methods: Study: series of cases (210 patients) with approaches of refractory epilepsy. Statistical analysis: SPSS, version10.0 Results: The pathologies that give way to difficult-to-control epilepsy are: premature childbirth, fetal suffering, hypoglycemia in newborn and meningitis. The patients are children with a delay of the psychomotor development and family antecedents of epilepsy. Discussion: It is necessary to advance programs for children with high risk for neurological pathologies characteristic of preterm infants or complications before and after delivery from the units of care intensive newborn. Conclusions: Premature babies are the most affected by difficult-to-control epilepsy, this study does not yet identify factors related with the development of refractory epilepsy, but it outlines hypothesis for future studies.