Clinical Features of Children with Febrile Status Epilepticus

Oh, Hyun Hee; Kwon, Soon Hak

Abstract

PURPOSE: Febrile seizures(FS) are the most common form of childhood seizures and their prognosis are favorable. Despite the fact, there are still some concerns that prolonged febrile seizures may cause brain damages or neurological sequelae, which may be associated with the development of mesial temporal sclerosis and intractable temporal lobe epilepsy in later life. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical characteristics and outcomes in children with febrile status epilepticus(FSE).
METHODS
39 children aged 6 months to 5 years were enrolled in this study, who presented with FSE at Kyungpook National University Hospital, from January, 2000 to December, 2004. They were compared with 250 children who presented with the first episodes of FS at the same period. We reviewed retrospectively the medical records for the clinical characteristics and outcomes of the two groups.
RESULTS
There were no statistically significant differences between the two groups in terms of age, etiology, degree and duration of fever, type of seizure, family history of FS or epilepsy, EEG and MRI findings, and recurrence rates of FS. Children with FSE were more likely to have neurological sequelae(12.5% vs. 2.4%; P=0.008), to develop afebrile seizures(21% vs. 4%; P=0.00) and to take anticonvulsants chronically(33% vs. 2%; P=0.00) than children with FS.
CONCLUSION
Our results indicate that prolonged febrile seizures are associated with unfavorable neurological outcomes compared with simple febrile seizures. However, long-term, and extensive follow-up studies are needed to find out the relationship between prolonged febrile seizures and subsequent mesial temporal sclerosis as well as intractable temporal lobe epilepsy.