All issues > Volume 52(1); 2009

Original Article

Korean J Pediatr. 2009;52(1):81-86. Published online January 15, 2009.

Complex febrile convulsions: A clinical study

Jeong Sic JS Kang¹, Sa-Ra SR Kim¹, Dong Wook DW Kim¹, Tae Won TW Song¹, Nam Hee NH Kim¹, Jong Hee JH Hwang¹, Jin Soo JS Moon¹, Chong Guk CG Lee¹

¹Department of Pediatrics, Ilsan Paik Hospital, College of Medicine, Inje University, Goyang, Korea

Correspondence Dong Wook DW Kim ,Email: dwkim@paik.ac.kr

Abstract

Purpose
: Febrile convulsions are classified into simple or complex types, the latter being characterized by increased risk of recurrence and progression to epilepsy. This study aimed to delineate the clinical characteristics of complex febrile convulsions.
Methods
: Between January 2003 and December 2006, 550 children were diagnosed with febrile convulsions at the Department of Pediatrics, Ilsan Paik Hospital. Their medical records were retrospectively reviewed for comparison between simple and complex febrile convulsions, and clinical findings of complex febrile convulsions were clarified.
Results
: Our subjects comprised a male-to-female ratio of 1.64:1; the age range was from 8 months to 8 years. Simple febrile convulsions comprised 432 cases, i.e., 4 times as many as complex febrile convulsions (118 cases). The causes of febrile illness included acute pharyngotonsillitis (357 cases, 64.9%), pneumonia (55 cases, 10.0%), acute gastroenteritis (37 cases, 6.7%), and otitis media (20 cases, 3.6%). We did not find any significant difference between simple and complex febrile convulsions in most clinical parameters such as gender, age, family history of febrile convulsions, and cause of febrile illness. Regarding subtypes of complex febrile convulsions, repeated convulsions were the most frequent (72.0%), followed by prolonged convulsions (16.9%) and focal convulsions (5.1%).
Conclusion
: We have reported here the clinical features of complex febrile convulsions. Although the results did not show any significant difference between simple and complex febrile convulsions in most clinical parameters such as gender, age, family history of febrile convulsion, and cause of febrile illness, further studies are essential to delineate complex febrile convulsions.

Keywords :Complex febrile convulsions, Child, Etiology, Clinical characteristics