Risk Factors and Clinical Characteristics of Simple and Complex Febrile Seizures

Objective : There is a growing awareness of the developmental importance of distinguishing complex from simplex febrile seizures (FS) in early childhood. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between risk factors and clinical characteristics of simple and complex febrile seizures. Methods : We assessed risk factors and clinical features of febrile seizures in all children who were admitted to the Pediatric Clinic with the diagnosis of FS from January 2010 to January 2012. Two hundred and ten children having a history of FS were evaluated for age at onset of FS, age of repeated FS, total number of FS in the past, family history of FS and epilepsy. The febrile seizures were classified as simple and complex. Results : Compared with children with simple FS, complex FS were associated with more seizures in the past (OR=2.20, 95% CI: 1.31, 1.70, p=0.003). Furthermore, family history of FS increased the odds of repeated seizures within 24h (adjusted OR=2.98, 95% CI: 1.14, 7.79, p=0.026). Similarly, family history of epilepsy increased the odds of repeated FS within 24h (adjusted OR=6.20, 95% CI: 1.01, 39.4, p=0.049). Conclusion : Our study showed that higher number of FS in the past might be associated with complex FS. Our findings also show that early detection of repeated seizures within 24h in children with family history of FS and epilepsy might be a gateway to improve early diagnosis of epilepsy. However, larger prospective study with parent’s involvement in FS detection are needed. Keywords : febrile seizures, classification, prognosis, epilepsy, children