Understanding Clinicoepidemiology, Diagnosis, Treatment, and Management of Febrile Seizures

Abstract

Febrile Seizure (FS) has been discussed in several works of literature since the time of Hippocrates, but they were recognized as a separate syndrome distinct from Epilepsy until the last of the middle century [1]. FS are the most common type of provoked seizures, affecting 2–4 percent of young children. They are defined as seizures that occur during a fever in children aged 6 months to 5 years and are not caused by a central nervous system infection or any other metabolic disturbance [2]. Most hospital admissions for FS occur within 24 hours of the onset of a fever with a temperature of 38 °C (100.4 °F) or higher. The temperature threshold varies from child to child during the FS. Since seizures are not related to the degree of temperature but are frequent if the temperature rises abruptly [3]. In the study of the Perinatal Collaborative Project conducted by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), more risk for developing an FS was suspected among children in whom abnormal development was found and whose parents had a positive history of FS [4]. [4].