A Follow Up Study of Admitted Febrile Seizure Patients with Respect to Recurrence of Febrile or Afebrile Seizures

Febrile seizure is the most common type of seizure that occurs in 3– 4% of children below the age of 5 years. The purpose of this study was to determine the frequency of recurrence of febrile and afebrile seizures after the first febrile seizure. In a descriptive prospective study, 139 children (6months to 6years old) admitted between March 2004and August 2005 at Yazd Shaheed Sadoughi Hospital because of febrile seizures were followed up for25.1±5.5 months for seizure recurrence. 76 boys and 63 girls with mean age of 2.03±1.21 year were studied. Febrile seizure was simple in 67% and complex in 33% of them. 37.4 % had febrile seizure recurrence with mean survival recurrence rate of 6.7±5.9, while 6.4% had afebrile seizures with mean survival recurrence rate of 7.8±9.4months. Risk factors for recurrence of febrile seizures included age below one year during the initial seizure and occurrence of seizure within one hour of onset of fever. Risk factors for epilepsy included focal febrile seizure, neurodevelopmental delay, occurrence of seizure within one hour of onset of fever and recurrent febrile seizures. In this study, age of onset in infants below one year was one of risk factors of febrile seizure recurrence and it was more prolonged in infants. It is therefore advisable to seriously consider febrile seizures in this age group.