Temperature, age, and recurrence of febrile seizure.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

Prediction of a recurrent febrile seizure during subsequent episodes of fever.

DESIGN:

Study of the data of the temperatures, seizure recurrences, and baseline patient characteristics that were collected at a randomized placebo controlled trial of ibuprofen syrup to prevent febrile seizure recurrences.

SETTING:

Two pediatric hospitals in the Netherlands.

PATIENTS:

A total of 230 children with an increased risk of febrile seizure recurrence.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE:

Seizure recurrence during a subsequent fever episode.

RESULTS:

A total of 509 episodes of fever were registered with 67 recurrences; 35 (52%) recurrences within the first 2 hours after fever of onset had a lower median temperature (39.3 degrees C) than 32 (48%) after more than 2 hours of fever (40.0 degrees C, P<.001). Poisson regression analysis resulted in 3 univariably significant (P<.05) predictors of a recurrence of seizure during a subsequent episode of fever. In a multivariable model, they were corrected for their correlation: interval between the last previous seizure and fever of onset less than 6 months (relative risk= 1.3 [95% confidence interval: 0.8-2.4]), age at fever of onset (relative risk=0.7 [95% confidence interval: 0.5-1.0] per year increase) and temperature at fever of onset (relative risk = 1.7 [95% confidence interval: 1.1-2.8] per degree Celsius increase).

CONCLUSIONS:

Half of the recurrent seizures occur in the first 2 hours after fever of onset of a subsequent fever episode. If seizure recurs at a later time, the temperature at seizure is higher compared with recurrences occurring in the first 2 hours of fever. Young age at fever of onset, high temperature at fever of onset, and high temperature during the episode of fever are associated with an increased risk of a recurrent febrile seizure at the moment that a child with a history of febrile seizures has fever again.

• Authors: M van Stuijvenberg, E W Steyerberg, G Derksen-Lubsen, H A Moll
• Journal: Archives of pediatrics & adolescent medicine (Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med) Vol. 152 Issue 12 Pg. 1170-5 (Dec 1998) ISSN: 1072-4710 [Print] United States
• PMID: 9856424 (Publication Type: Clinical Trial, Journal Article, Multicenter Study, Randomized Controlled Trial, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)

Topics

• Age Factors
• Female
• Fever (complications)
• Humans
• Infant
• Male
• Netherlands
• Poisson Distribution
• Predictive Value of Tests
• Recurrence
• Risk
• Seizures (etiology)
• Time Factors