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The prognosis of convulsions during childhood shigellosis
A Zvulunov1, M Lerman, S Ashkenazi
1Department of Paediatrics A, Beilinson Medical Center, Petah Tiqva, Israel.
Insights
Children experiencing convulsions during shigellosis show favorable long-term outcomes. Most children recovered without lasting neurological issues, indicating convulsions in shigellosis are generally not a cause for concern.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Infectious Diseases
- Neurology
Background:
- Shigellosis, a common childhood infection, can be associated with febrile seizures.
- The long-term neurological sequelae of convulsions during shigellosis require further investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the long-term outcomes in children who experienced convulsions during shigellosis.
- To identify any persistent neurological deficits or increased risk of epilepsy.
Main Methods:
- A longitudinal study followed 111 children for 3-18 years after convulsions during shigellosis.
- Assessed for mortality, motor deficits, fine hand coordination, and epilepsy development.
Main Results:
- No deaths or persistent motor deficits were observed.
- 3.3% of children without prior neurological issues showed poor fine hand coordination.
- Only one child developed epilepsy; 15.7% experienced recurrent febrile seizures.
- A history of seizures was the sole identified risk factor for recurrent febrile seizures (P < 0.01).
Conclusions:
- Convulsions during shigellosis generally have a favorable long-term prognosis.
- Routine long-term follow-up for these children is not typically necessary.
- Recurrent febrile seizures are more likely in children with a prior history of seizures.
Abstract:
We examined the long-term outcome in 111 children who had convulsions during shigellosis and were followed for 3-18 years after the incident. No deaths or persistent motor deficits occurred as sequellae. Poor coordination of fine hand movements were noted in 3.3% of the 92 children who had no pre-existing neurological abnormality. Only 1 child developed epilepsy by the age of 8 years. Of the children 15.7% had recurrent febrile seizures. The only risk factor identified for febrile seizures following convulsions in shigellosis was a previous history (P less than 0.01). These observations suggest that convulsions in shigellosis have a favourable prognosis, and do not necessitate long-term follow up.