Epilepsy and febrile convulsions

risk of developing epilepsy after febrile seizure

Majority of children with febrile seizures do not develop epilepsy.

• in an epidemiological study of 687 children who experienced an initial febrile seizure (simple and complex)
  • the risk of developing unprovoked seizure was increased fivefold when compared with children with no febrile seizures.
  • in children with simple febrile seizures the risk of developing epilepsy was 2.4% while in children with febrile seizures with a single complex feature the risk was 6-8% and those with two or three complex features, the risk was 17-22 % and 49%, respectively (1)

Several risk factors for future epilepsy after a febrile seizure have been described.

• family history of epilepsy
• complex febrile seizures
• neurodevelopmental impairment e.g - cerebral palsy, hydrocephalus
• short duration of fever (<1 hour) before the seizure (1,2)

Reference:

• (1) Patel N et al. Febrile seizures. BMJ. 2015 ;351:h4240
• (2) Graves RC, Oehler K, Tingle LE. Febrile seizures: risks, evaluation, and prognosis. Am Fam Physician. 2012;85(2):149-53