A Study on the Clinical Features and the Predictors of Febrile Seizure Plus

Kim, Seong Won; Lee, Hyo Sang; Yoo, Hwang Jae

Abstract

PURPOSE: We intended to investigate the clinical features and the predictors of febrile seizure plus(FS+), not suspected of generalized epilepsy with febrile seizure plus (GEFS+).
METHODS
We selected 24 patients, aged more than 6 years old, who were admitted to Myongji Hospital of Kwandong University from January, 2001 to March, 2005 due to febrile seizures. All of those had neither a family history of febrile seizures or epilepsy nor abnormalities in the EEG or MRI. We examined sex, age of seizure onset, type of seizure, duration of seizure, the time until seizure after fever and frequency of febrile seizure. We investigated also the statistical significances of these clinical features by comparing with patients of simple febrile seizure(FS) as a control group.
RESULTS
The male to female of the FS+ group was 2:1, which had no statistical significance compared with the FS. The age of seizure onsets in the FS+(39.4+/-5.0 months) was significantly older than FS the group(24.1+/-2.1 months)(P<0.05). In the types of seizures, non-generalized tonic clonic seizures occurred significantly more often in the FS+ group(20.9%) than the FS(8.4%)(P<0.05). The frequency of febrile seizures also was high in the FS+ group(n=3.2+/-0.8) than the FS group(n=1.1+/-0.1)(P<0.05). The duration of seizures and the time until seizure after fever did not have statistical significance.
CONCLUSION
We suggest that FS+ can be characterized by late onsets of initial seizures, more frequent non-generalized tonic clonic seizures and recurrent febrile seizures. Therefore, FS+ should be suspected for patients more than 4 years old with non-generalized tonic clonic seizures or recurrent febrile seizures of more than 4 times.