Assessment of febrile seizures in children

Abstract

Febrile seizures are the most common form of childhood seizures, affecting 2-5% of all children and usually appearing between 3 months and 5 years of age. Despite its predominantly benign nature, a febrile seizure (FS) is a terrifying experience for most parents. The condition is perhaps one of the most prevalent causes of admittance to pediatric emergency wards worldwide. FS, defined as either simple or complex, may be provoked by any febrile bacterial or (more usually) viral illness. No specific level of fever is required to diagnose FS. It is essential to exclude underlying meningitis in all children with FS, either clinically or, if any doubt remains, by lumbar puncture. There is no evidence, however, to support routine lumbar puncture in all children admitted with simple FS, especially when typical clinical signs of meningitis are lacking. The risk of epilepsy following FS is 1-6%. The association, however small, between FS and epilepsy may demonstrate a genetic link between FS and epilepsy rather than a cause and effect relationship. The effectiveness of prophylactic treatment with medication remains controversial. There is no evidence of the effectiveness of antipyretics in preventing future FS. Prophylactic use of paracetamol, ibuprofen or a combination of both in FS, is thus a questionable practice. There is reason to believe that children who have experienced a simple FS are over-investigated and over-treated. This review aims to provide physicians with adequate knowledge to make rational assessments of children with febrile seizures.

Risk of convulsive epilepsy following acute seizures in Kenyan children

“…The prevalence of epilepsy was greatest after complex acute seizures combined (6%), compared with those with simple acute seizures, which is similar to previous studies 30, 31. Prevalence of epilepsy after convulsive status epilepticus was observed in 8%, which is lower than in another Kenyan study (15%)32 that evaluated children sooner than we did in our study (3 vs. 7 years); thus, survivorship may have been better.…”

The Correlation between Cerebrospinal Fluid and Levels of Serum Zinc and Calcium in Children With Febrile Seizure

“…Febrile seizure (FS) is one of the most common neurological conditions in childhood (1)(2)(3)(4). The reported prevalence rate for most developed countries varies between 2% and 5% (5)(6)(7)(8).…”

“…The reported prevalence rate for most developed countries varies between 2% and 5% (5)(6)(7)(8). Febrile seizure has been defined by the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) as "a seizure occurring in childhood after one month of age, associated with a febrile illness not caused by an infection of the central nervous system, without previous neonatal seizures or a previous unprovoked seizure, and not meeting the criteria for other acute symptomatic seizures" (1,3,7,9,10). The pathogenesis of this condition is still unknown.…”

Role of clinical pharmacist in rational therapy of pediatric seizures

“…Febrile seizure (FS) is a convulsive event, exclusively occurring in childhood (Jirsch snd Hirsch, 2007). Although the occurrence of febrile seizures in childhood is quite common, they can be extremely frightening, emotionally traumatic and anxiety provoking when witnessed by parents (Felveit, 2008). Seizure treatment is more successful when given earlier, and prognosis depends on the cause (Rivello, 2009).…”