All issues > Volume 50(8); 2007

Original Article

Korean J Pediatr. 2007;50(8):757-760. Published online August 15, 2007.

Unprovoked seizures in children with complex febrile convulsion; short-term outcome

Ji Yeon JY Choi¹, Eun Jung EJ Cheon¹, Young Hyuk YH Lee¹

¹Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, Konyang University, Daejon, Korea

Correspondence Young Hyuk YH Lee ,Email: koojook@medimail.co.kr

Abstract

Purpose
: Febrile convulsions (FC) were considered to be a benign seizure syndrome that is distinct from epilepsy. But it is thought that children with complex features i.e., partial or prolonged seizures or multiple episodes of FC would bear a higher risk of developing unprovoked seizures. The aim of this study is to look into the relative significance of each criteria that define complex febrile convulsions (CFC) as a predictor of subsequent epilepsy.
Methods
: All children were retrospectively identified for a febrile seizure through pediatric departments of the Konyang University Hospital. Information was collected from medical records and interviews with parents. Patients with abnormal neurological examinations at presentation were excluded.
Results
: This study was performed from March 2000 to December 2003. Sixty-three out of 314 children (20.0%) with febrile convulsion fulfilled the criteria for CFC and forty-four children of them have been followed for 12 months or more. Ten of these (23.2%) had unprovoked seizures for 14-62 months (median 34.2?1.6 months). The patients with partial FC showed a trend toward a higher risk (57.1%) of developing epilepsy than the patients with multiple or prolonged febrile convulsions (26.7%, 24.1% respectively).
Conclusion
: We found that the partial feature of febrile convulsion is associated with subsequent epilepsy.

Keywords :Complex febrile convulsion, Epilepsy