Ewha Med J.  2017 Oct;40(4):149-154. 10.12771/emj.2017.40.4.149.

Current Clinical Features of Febrile Seizures in a Pediatric Emergency Room

• Lee SW
• Youn YM
• Cha J
• Cho A

• KMID: 2393718
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.12771/emj.2017.40.4.149

Abstract

OBJECTIVES
To expand current knowledge on febrile seizures (FSs), the most common childhood seizure disorder, we investigated clinical features and risk factors of FS in the pediatric emergency department of a center in western Seoul.
METHODS
Children with FS that visited the pediatric emergency room of the Ewha Womans University Medical Center from January to December 2014 were included in this study. A retrospective medical record review was conducted for a total of 404 seizure events relative to 265 patients.
RESULTS
A total of 150 boys and 115 girls were enrolled. Children presenting their first FSs were 70.9% (n=188). Average age of FS onset was 28.9 months. Family history was reported in 95 children (36.8%) with higher relevance of paternal inheritance (44.2%, n=42/95). More than half of the seizures (56.4%, n=228/404) occurred on the first day of fever. The most common cause of fever was upper respiratory tract infection (65.8%, n=266/404). Children attending a daycare center had higher incidence of multiple FS compared to those cared for at home. Approximately one third of seizure events (31.7%, n=128/404) were admission cases, mainly because of prolonged fever.
CONCLUSION
FS is a common neurologic disorder with relatively high admission rate among pediatric emergency department visits. Daycare attendance is associated with current increased incidence of multiple FS. Further study with long-term follow up is necessary to expand knowledge on improving clinical care strategy in FS.

Keyword

Seizures, febrile; Recurrence of seizures

MeSH Terms

Academic Medical Centers
Child
Emergencies*
Emergency Service, Hospital*
Epilepsy
Female
Fever
Follow-Up Studies
Humans
Incidence
Medical Records
Nervous System Diseases
Respiratory Tract Infections
Retrospective Studies
Risk Factors
Seizures
Seizures, Febrile*
Seoul
Wills

Figure

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  Fig. 1 Age distribution by each febrile seizure (FS) event. The most frequent is from 12 months to less than 24 months.

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  Fig. 2 Distribution of body temperature for each febrile seizure (FS) event. The body temperature is the highest fever during the febrile period before the seizure. There is the greatest number of seizures at 39℃ or more and less than 39.5℃. Other than that, the higher the body temperature, the more the seizure is, but not related the recurrence of seizure.

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  Fig. 3 Seasonal variations of seizure events during a year. January and February, when there are the epidemic of influenza virus, are many febrile seizure (FS) events. And the period from April to June, when is season of enteroviruses, there is many FS events, also.

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