QT Interval Changes in Children With Febrile Convulsion Compared With Healthy

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Cardiology
• Clinical Electrophysiology

Background:

• Febrile seizure (FS) is a common childhood condition often associated with temperature elevations.
• The QT interval, a measure of cardiac repolarization, can be affected by various physiological states, including febrile illnesses.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate and compare QT interval parameters in children experiencing febrile convulsions (FC) versus healthy controls.
• To identify specific electrocardiographic (ECG) changes associated with FC.

Main Methods:

• A case-control study involving 180 children, equally divided into FC and control groups.
• ECG measurements of QT interval parameters were performed and interpreted by a pediatric cardiologist.
• Data analysis utilized SPSS software with a significance level of P<0.05.

Main Results:

• Children with FC showed significant differences in heart rate (HR), R in aVL, S in V3, left ventricular mass (LVM), QTd, QTc, and QTcd compared to controls.
• Abnormalities in QTc (P<0.001) and QTcd (P<0.001) were significantly more frequent in children with FC.
• While LVM was significantly higher in children over 24 months with FC (P<0.001), other QT parameters did not show significant age-related variations within the FC group.

Conclusions:

• Corrected QT (QTc), dispersion QT (QTd), and corrected-dispersion QT (QTcd) are significantly altered in children with febrile convulsions.
• These QT interval changes in FC patients were consistent across different age groups within the study.
• The findings suggest a potential link between febrile convulsions and cardiac repolarization abnormalities.