Clinical profile and laboratory parameters of febrile seizures: a hospital based cross-sectional study in sub-Himalayan region

Abstract

Background: Febrile seizures occur commonly in the age group of 6 to 60 months, clinical spectrum is variable and range from single, brief episode to status epilepticus which can further progress to long term consequences. There is very limited data available from sub-Himalayan belt of northern India, hence the present study was planned to know the clinical spectrum, pattern of lab parameters and their association as a risk factor for occurrence of seizures. Methods: A hospital based cross-sectional study was conducted in the department of paediatrics of Indira Gandhi Medical college, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh. All children between 6 to 60 months admitted in our institute during the study period of July 2021 to June 2022 with diagnosis of febrile seizure were considered for the study. Results: A total of 120 children were included in the present study with a mean age of 26.6±14.2 months. Majority of the study subjects were from rural area (74.2%) and male had slightly higher representation (55.8%). Generalised tonic-clonic seizure (78.3%) was the most common phenotypic presentation, cases with SFS constituted 61.7% and CFS was observed in 38.3% of study subjects. Raised ESR values, elevated CRP values and leucocytosis had significant association in occurrence of CFS. Conclusions: The study provides valuable insights into the different phenotypic presentations and characteristics of febrile seizures in the study population. The study further identifies a statistically significant association between certain inflammatory markers and CFS.