A descriptive study on acute gastroenteritis with convulsion: 1-year analysis

Abstract

Introduction Several etiologies explain the occurrence of seizures with acute gastroenteritis, such as electrolyte abnormalities and dehydration, a high fever, infectious fragments of pathogens crossing blood-brain barrier and causing significant central nervous system damage, septicemia, intracranial hemorrhage, and hypoglycemia. The aim of this study was to detect the frequency and etiology of convulsion in children with acute gastroenteritis admitted to Assiut University Children Hospital during 1 year from January 2017 to the end of December 2017. Patients and methods This is a one-year descriptive study that was carried out on 130 patients having acute gastroenteritis with convulsion, aged from 1 month to 5 years. Patients were divided according to the age into two groups: group 1, from 1 to 12 months of age, and group 2, from more than 1 to 5 years. All cases were subjected to full history, complete physical examination, and investigations, which included complete blood count, serum electrolytes, renal function tests, arterial blood gases, random blood sugar, and blood culture, which was done only when sepsis is suspected. Results The results show that the frequency of convulsion was 4.6%. The most common cause was electrolyte disturbance, which was noticed in 106 (81.5%) cases, followed by central nervous system infection, which was noticed in 39 (30%) cases, then septicemia and hypoglycemia, which were noticed in 13 (10%) cases each, then febrile convulsion, which was noticed in 11 (8.5%) cases [regarding febrile convulsions, there was a statistically significant difference between the two age groups (P = 0.027)], and lastly, intracranial hemorrhage, which was noticed in five (3.8%) cases. Conclusion Convulsion is one of the most serious complications associated with acute gastroenteritis. A younger age group (1–12 months) is more susceptible to complications than the older age group. Electrolyte disturbance is still a major cause of convulsion with acute gastroenteritis.