[A long-term follow-up of 234 children with febrile seizures]
T Durá-Travé1, M E Yoldi-Petri
1Hospital Virgen del Camino, Pamplona, Navarra, Spain. tduratra@cfnavarra.es
Insights
The age of a child's first febrile seizure (FS) significantly impacts their prognosis. Younger children experiencing FS before 15 months face a higher risk of recurrence and developing epilepsy.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Neurology
- Epileptology
- Developmental Pediatrics
Context:
- Febrile seizures (FS) are common in childhood, generally benign, but associated with varying risks of recurrence and epilepsy.
- Identifying prognostic factors for FS is crucial for clinical management and parental counseling.
- Previous research indicates diverse factors influence FS outcomes, necessitating further developmental analysis.
Purpose:
- To conduct a developmental analysis of children with first-time febrile seizures (FS).
- To determine epidemiological and clinical factors influencing the prognosis of pediatric patients experiencing FS.
- To investigate the relationship between age at first FS and subsequent outcomes like seizure recurrence and epilepsy development.
Summary:
- A review of 234 children with first seizures (1989-1996), excluding those with neurological risk, analyzed epidemiological, clinical, and developmental data.
- Patients were grouped by age at first FS: before 15 months (n=69) and after 15 months (n=165).
- Results show a mean age of 20.6 months at first FS, with earlier onset linked to higher relapse (73.9% vs. 33.1%) and epilepsy risks (11.6% vs. 3.0%), particularly in the younger group with complex seizures or family history.
Impact:
- The age at the first febrile seizure is a significant determinant of its natural history and patient prognosis.
- Findings highlight the importance of age at onset in predicting seizure recurrence and the risk of developing epilepsy.
- This study provides valuable insights for clinicians in assessing the long-term outlook for children with febrile seizures.
Introduction:
Febrile seizures (FS) are a benign process, yet diverse factors have been identified as being related to a higher risk of relapses and epilepsy.
Aims:
The purpose of this study was to perform a developmental analysis of a group of children with FS in order to determine the epidemiological and clinical factors that might condition the prognosis of these patients.
Patients And Methods:
We reviewed the records of 234 children who had had their first seizure between 1989 and 1996; epidemiological, clinical and developmental data were collected. Patients at neurological risk were excluded. Patients were divided into two groups according to whether they had their first FS before (smaller group, n = 69) or after (larger group, n = 165) reaching the age of 15 months.
Results:
The mean age at the first FS was 20.6 +/- 8.9 months, being higher (p < 0.05) in children with a single FS (23.6 +/- 9.1 months) and lower (p < 0.05) in those who had relapses (17.7 +/- 7.4 months) and epilepsy (14.3 +/- 6.5 months). The male/female ratio was 1.09 in the smaller group and 1.96 in the larger group (p < 0.05). The risk of relapses was 73.9% in the smaller group and 33.1% in the larger group (p < 0.05), and in both groups it increased if there was a history of FS or epilepsy in the family. The risk of epilepsy was 11.6% in the smaller group and 3.0% in the larger group (p < 0.05), but it increased in the smaller group if the first FS or relapses were complex.
Conclusions:
The age at the first FS is a substantial factor in the natural history of this nosological entity, since it conditions certain epidemiological characteristics and, especially, the prognosis of these patients.
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