Survey of Frequency, Clinical Characteristics and Causes of Seizure inChildren Younger Than Five Years With Acute Gastroenteritis Admitted toAhvaz Golestan Hospital Over a Two Year Period

Acute gastroenteritis is a highly prevalent disease in children. Various factorsmay causes seizure in children with gastroenteritis. This study was designed to determine the frequency,clinical characteristics and causes of seizure in children younger than 5 years with acute gastroenteritisadmitted to Ahvaz Golestan hospital.

In a retrospective descriptive study based on hospital records , 339 children under5 years old who were admitted to Ahvaz Golestan hospital during 2016 - 2017 were assessed. Patientswith underlying neurological disorders were excluded and the recorded information of patients withseizure was reviewed.

Out of 339 reviewed cases, 59 patients (17.4%) had seizures, most prevalent in13 to 24 monthsage group (28.8%). In 74.6% of cases, type of diarrhea were dysentery. 64.4% had mild dehydration.Encephalopathy was detected in 1.7%, shigellosis in 6.8%, hyponatremia in 32.2% and hypernatremiain 3.4%. Seizures in 52.5% of cases were considered as febrile Seizure. Diagnostic criteria of benign convulsionsassociated with mild gastroenteritis (CwG) were present in 5% of patients. 79.7% of cases hadgeneralized seizures. In comparison, a significant relationship was observed between the febrile andnon-febrile groups only in the variable of diarrhea type.

The results show that fever and electrolyte imbalances and among infectious agents, Shigellaare important causes of seizures in patients with gastroenteritis. In patients with dysentery, seizures aremore likely.