Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 22, 2026
Behavioral Characterization of Pentylenetetrazole-induced Seizures: Moving Beyond the Racine Scale
Published on: July 8, 2025
Intermittent Diazepam versus Continuous Phenobarbital to Prevent Recurrence of Febrile Seizures: A Randomized
Mohammadreza Salehiomran1, Seyed Mohammad Hoseini2, Ali Ghabeli Juibary3
1Pediatric Neurologist, NonCommunicable Pediatric Diseases Research Center, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran.
Insights
This study compared continuous phenobarbital and intermittent diazepam for preventing recurrent febrile seizures in children. No significant difference in effectiveness was found between the two treatments for febrile seizure prevention.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Neurology
- Clinical Trials
- Pharmacology
Background:
- Febrile seizures are common in children aged 3 months to 5 years, affecting 2-5% of this population.
- Recurrence rates for febrile seizures are approximately 33% overall, and up to 50% in infants under one year old.
- The optimal prophylactic treatment for febrile seizures remains a subject of debate.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the effectiveness of continuous phenobarbital versus intermittent diazepam in preventing recurrent febrile seizures.
- To compare the prophylactic efficacy of two common treatment strategies for febrile seizures in children.
Main Methods:
- A randomized controlled clinical trial was conducted with 145 children aged 6 months to 5 years.
- Participants received either continuous phenobarbital or intermittent diazepam for prophylaxis for up to one year.
- Children with febrile seizures requiring prophylaxis and no prior treatment were enrolled.
Main Results:
- The recurrence rate of febrile seizures was 11/71 in the diazepam group and 17/74 in the phenobarbital group.
- No statistically significant difference was observed in the recurrence rates between the continuous phenobarbital and intermittent diazepam treatment groups.
- Both prophylactic treatments demonstrated similar effectiveness in preventing febrile seizure recurrence.
Conclusions:
- Continuous phenobarbital and intermittent diazepam show comparable effectiveness in preventing recurrent febrile seizures.
- Intermittent diazepam may be a preferable choice due to a potentially lower rate of complications compared to phenobarbital.
- Further research into the safety profiles of prophylactic treatments for febrile seizures is warranted.
Objective:
Febrile seizure is the most common neurologic problem in children between 3 months to 5 years old. Two to five percent of children aged less than five yr old will experience it at least one time. This type of seizure is age dependent and its recurrence rate is about 33% overalls and 50% in children less than one yr old. The prophylactic treatment is still controversial, so we conducted a randomized controlled clinical trial to find out the effectiveness of continuous phenobarbital versus intermittent diazepam for febrile seizure.
Materials & Methods:
This clinical trial was conducted in the Department of Pediatric Neurology, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran between March 2008 and October 2010. All children from 6 month to 5 yr old referred to Amirkola Children's Hospital, Babol, Iran were enrolled in the study. Children with febrile seizure that had indication for prophylaxis but did not receive any prophylaxis previously were enrolled in the study. For prophylactic anti convulsion therapy, patients were divided randomly in two groups. One group received continuous phenobarbital and another treated with intermittent diazepam whenever the children experienced an episode of febrile illness for up to one year after their last convulsion.
Results:
Of all 145 studied cases, the recurrent rate in children under prophylaxis with diazepam was 11/71 and in phenobarbital group was 17/74. There was no significant difference in the recurrence rate in both groups.
Conclusion:
There was no significant difference in the effectiveness of phenobarbital and diazepam in prevention of recurrent in febrile seizure and we think that in respect of lower complication rate in diazepam administration, it cloud be better choice than phenobarbital.
More Related Videos
10:22Interictal High Frequency Oscillations Detected with Simultaneous Magnetoencephalography and Electroencephalography as Biomarker of Pediatric Epilepsy
Published on: December 6, 2016
06:58Non-restraining EEG Radiotelemetry: Epidural and Deep Intracerebral Stereotaxic EEG Electrode Placement
Published on: June 25, 2016
Related Concept Videos
01:08Antiepileptic Drugs: Sodium Channel Blockers
Sodium channel blockers modulate ion channels, particularly voltage-gated sodium channels. They block only sodium ion movement.
Among the most commonly prescribed antiepileptic drugs are...
01:24Drug Accumulation During Multiple Dosing: Intermittent IV Infusions
01:18Antiepileptic Drugs: GABAergic Pathway Potentiators
The key GABA pathway potentiators used in epilepsy management are as follows.
Benzodiazepines are a well-known class of drugs used for...
01:20Antiepileptic Drugs: Potassium Channel Activators
Ezogabine has gained approval as an adjunctive treatment...
01:20Antiepileptic Drugs: Modulators of Neurotransmitter Release Mediated by SV2A Protein
SV2A is a transmembrane glycoprotein located predominantly in the brain, modulating the release of neurotransmitters for neuronal communication. Both levetiracetam and brivaracetam exhibit a high affinity for...
01:24Epilepsy and Seizures: Overview
Various factors can trigger epilepsy, including genetic factors, brain damage, metabolic causes, and unknown etiology. Diagnosis of epilepsy involves electroencephalography (EEG), which...