Association of iron deficiency anemia with febrile seizures: A case control study.

Abstract

Objective: To determine the association of iron deficiency anemia (IDA) with febrile seizures (FS). Study Design: Case Control study. Setting: Department of Pediatric Medicine, Bahawal Victoria Hospital, Bahawalpur. Period: January 2022 to July 2022. Material & Methods: A total of 30 children of both genders of age 1 to 5 years with febrile seizure and 30 children in control group (febrile without seizures) were included. Three ml blood sample of each patient was taken as sent to the institutional laboratory for assessment of iron deficiency anemia (hemoglobin < 11.5 g/dl). Association of IDA with FS was calculated. Results: Out of 60 patients, 28 (46.7%) were boys and 32 (53.3%) girls with boy to girl ratio of 1:1.1. The mean age in case group was 2.93 ± 1.23 years and in control group was 3.0 ± 1.31 years. Majority of the patients 39 (65.0%) were between 1 to 3 years of age. Frequency of IDA in case group (febrile seizure group) was found in 11 (36.7%) while in control group (febrile disease without seizures) it was found in 4 (13.3%) children (p=0.037, odds ratio=3.76).