Febrile seizures associated with influenza A

To clarify the clinical impact of influenza A on the development of febrile seizures (FS), consecutive FS patients brought to our hospital between October 2003 and September 2004 were prospectively surveyed. Patients infected with influenza A (influenza A patients) and those uninfected with influenza (non-influenza patients) were compared with regard to clinical characteristics of FS. Influenza infection was determined by rapid antigen test and/or serologically. Associations of influenza A with atypical findings of FS, including partial seizures, prolonged seizures, multiple seizures during the same illness, and 30-min or longer prolonged postictal impairment of consciousness (PPIC), were analyzed by multiple logistic regression. A total of 215 patients (47 influenza A and 168 non-influenza patients) were enrolled in the study. Age was significantly higher in the influenza A group (39.85+/-22.16 months vs. 27.51+/-17.14 months, P<0.001). Of 42 patients aged 48 months or older, which corresponded to the 80th percentile for age, 15 (35.7%) were influenza A patients, with a significantly higher incidence of such patients than in the subgroup of patients aged 47 months or younger (32/173, 18.5%) (P=0.015). On multiple logistic regression analysis, influenza A was independently associated with PPIC (odds ratio: 4.44, 95% confidence interval: 1.52-12.95, P=0.006), but not with other atypical findings. The positive association of influenza A with PPIC suggests that influenza may affect state of consciousness at the same time that it induces seizures with fever.