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PubMed · 16333484

Febrile seizures.

Jayasri Srinivasan·Katherine A Wallace·Ingrid E Scheffer
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Abstract

BACKGROUND: Febrile convulsions, or febrile seizures, are frequently encountered in paediatrics, and despite often being self limiting, these seizures strike fear in the hearts of patients' carers. OBJECTIVE: This article reviews the assessment and management of febrile seizures in children. DISCUSSION: The initial assessment of a child who convulses with fever should be directed at finding a cause for the fever, rather than the seizure itself, once the seizure has abated. A lumbar puncture should be performed if there is clinical suspicion of meningitis. Electroencephalograms and neuroimaging studies are not routinely indicated. Overall, febrile seizures carry a good prognosis, although one-third of children have recurrent attacks. Febrile seizures are genetic in origin. The risk of later epilepsy is small but increased if the child has a complex febrile seizure, neurological deficit, or a family history of epilepsy. Carers should be counselled in the management of seizures. The effectiveness of prophylactic treatment with medication remains controversial.

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AnticonvulsantsChild, PreschoolElectroencephalographyFamily PracticeHumansInfantRecurrenceRisk AssessmentSeizures, FebrileSpinal PunctureTreatment OutcomeJournal ArticleReview

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Jayasri Srinivasan, Katherine A Wallace, Ingrid E Scheffer. 2005. Febrile seizures.. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16333484/

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