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Do clinical variables predict an abnormal EEG in patients with complex febrile seizures?

Charuta Joshi1, Teresa Wawrykow, Jill Patrick

  • 1Section of Pediatric Neurosciences, Department of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital, Health Sciences Centre, University of Manitoba, Manitoba, Canada R3A 1S1. cjoshi@hsc.mb.ca

Seizure
|August 16, 2005
PubMed

Insights

Clinical variables can help identify children with complex febrile seizures (CFS) who may benefit from an electroencephalogram (EEG). This approach can optimize resource allocation in pediatric neurology.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Neurology
  • Clinical Neurophysiology

Background:

  • Febrile seizures are common in young children, with electroencephalography (EEG) typically not needed for simple cases.
  • The utility of EEG in assessing complex febrile seizures (CFS) remains unclear, leading to frequent ordering.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the predictive value of clinical variables at presentation for identifying abnormal EEGs in children with CFS.
  • To determine if clinical factors can guide the decision-making process for EEG referrals in pediatric patients with CFS.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective review of 175 children's EEG requisitions, reports, and medical records over an 11-year period.
  • Statistical analysis of the relationship between clinical variables (age, timing of EEG, family history, neurological exam) and EEG abnormalities.

Main Results:

  • 39.43% of children with CFS had abnormal EEGs.
  • Predictive factors for abnormal EEGs included age >3 years, EEG performed within 7 days of CFS, and an abnormal neurological exam.
  • A family history of febrile seizures was associated with a normal EEG.

Conclusions:

  • Clinical variables at presentation are useful for screening children with CFS who may require an EEG.
  • This approach could lead to more efficient use of healthcare resources.
  • Further prospective studies are needed to correlate abnormal EEGs with seizure recurrence or epilepsy development.
Abstract

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