ASSOCIATION OF FEBRILE SEIZURES WITH IRON DEFICIENCY ANEMIA: A PROSPECTIVE STUDY.

Abstract

Introduction: Febrile seizures are common in pediatric age group. These seizures are benign and self limiting and usually do not recur after 5 years of age. In pediatric patients viral illnesses are commonly associated with incidence of febrile seizures. Family history of febrile seizures may be present in many cases. Many studies have concluded that febrile seizures are more common in children having iron deficiency some other studies have even reported that iron deficiency is less frequent in children with febrile seizures. We conducted this study of iron deficiency anemia in children presenting with febrile seizures.
 Materials and Methods: 50 pediatric patients presenting with febrile seizures were included in this study on the basis of a predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Demographic details such as age and gender was noted. Previous history of febrile seizure was asked for and noted. Family and past history was noted. Serum Ferritin levels were determined in all the cases. Hemoglobin levels less than 11 gm/dl was taken as cutoff for the diagnosis of anemia. For statistical analysis SSPS 21.0 software was used and p value less than 0.05 was taken as statistically significant.
 Results: Out of 50 studied cases 36 (72.00%) were males and 14 (28.00%) were females with a M: F ratio of 1:0.38. The mean age of patients was found to be 18.18 +/- 11.32 months. Majority of the cases (74%) were having first onset of febrile seizures. Second and third episode of febrile seizures was seen in 8 (16%) and 5 (10%) cases respectively. 42 (84%) patients were found to have simple febrile seizures whereas remaining 8 (16%) patients had complex febrile seizures. criteria 36 (72%) patients were found to have iron deficiency anemia defined as serum Ferritin level below 12 microgram/lit.
 Conclusion: Iron deficiency anemia is associated with an increased risk of febrile seizures in pediatric age group.
 Keywords: Febrile Seizures, Iron deficiency anemia, Serum Ferritin, Hemoglobin.