Year: 2007
Type: article
Abstract: Seizures associated with fever are a common pae diatric problem.Differentiation of febrile seizures from acute symptomatic seizures secondary to cen tral nervous system infection or seizures triggered by fever in children with epilepsy is essential.The syndrome of febrile seizures is defined as seizures associated with fever in the absence of central ner vous system infection or acute electrolyte imbal ance in a young child.w1 The prevalence of febrile seizures is between 3% and 8% in children up to 7 years of age. 1 w2 Variation in prevalence relates to dif ferences in case definitions, ascertainment methods, geographical variation, and cultural factors.Here we discuss the investigation, management, and outcome of febrile seizures. Sources and selection criteriaWe searched Medline, Embase, and the Cochrane Collaboration from 2000 onwards by using the medical subject heading "seizures, febrile" or key words "febrile convulsions" or "febrile seizures".We searched the same databases before that date, focusing on the medical subject headings only.We selected relevant articles from the abstracts and hand searched these for other pertinent publications. why and at what age do children have febrile seizures?Febrile seizures result from a combination of genetic and environmental factors. 2 Of children with febrile seizures, 24% have a family history of febrile seizures and 4% have a family history of epilepsy.3 Although polygenic inheritance is usual, a small number of families exist in whom the inheritance of febrile sei zures is autosomal dominant, and several chromo somal loci and a few genes have been identified.4 Mutations in sodium channel and γaminobutyric acid A receptor genes have been identified in chil dren with febrile seizures, w3 w4 suggesting that genes coding for ion channels are likely to underlie the syndrome.Febrile seizures are defined as occurring between 6 months and 6 years of age. 5 The median age of onset is 18 months, and half of children present between 12 and 30 months.3
Source: BMJ
Authors: Lynette G Sadleir, Ingrid E Scheffer
Language: Dutch
Subfield: Clinical Neurology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W4231339551