Risk factors for febrile status Epilepticus: A case control study

Febrile seizures are the most common seizures in children below 5 years of age. If a febrile seizure persists more than 30 minutes, it is termed as febrile status. Risk factors for first febrile seizure are well established, but risk factors for febrile status are largely unknown. An observational, analytical study of case control design was done in the department of Pediatric medicine of R G Kar medical college, Kolkata to find out the risk factors. Children with febrile status epilepticus were grouped as cases and simple febrile seizure patients as control. The parents were interviewed based on the predesigned case-record proforma to elucidate the history. Clinical examination of the child and relevant investigations were also done. Categorical variables were compared in two groups with the help of Chi-square test and continuous variables with the help of t-test. Odds ratio with 95% confidence interval was calculated to determine the strength of association. It was seen that, children developed FSE in their first FS had lower temperatures (<1020F), shorter duration of recognized fever prior to seizure (<12 hours) and younger age (<18 months) compared with children with simple FS. Preterm birth (<37 weeks), low birth weight (<2.5 kg) and history of developmental delay were pre and post natal factors responsible. Family history of FS and epilepsy in 1st degree relatives were indicative of a genetic background behind FSE. However these assumptions need further large multicentre studies for confirmation.