Comparison of Clinical Characteristics in Patients with Febrile Seizures Based on Prior COVID-19 Infection

Abstract

Purpose: Febrile seizures (FSs) are neurological events associated with fever, typically occurring in children between 6 months and 5 years of age in the absence of central nervous system infection. Growing evidence suggests that coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) can cause immune system dysregulation. This study compared the clinical characteristics of patients with FS based on whether they had experienced prior COVID-19 infection.Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted of the medical records of 114 patients with FS who visited Inje University Sanggye Paik Hospital between January 2019 and December 2022. Results: The study cohort included 70 (61.4%) boys and 44 (38.6%) girls, with a mean age of 22.99±11.68 months at seizure onset. Among the 114 patients with FS, 19 had a history of COVID-19, while 95 did not. These groups differed significantly in the interval between the onset of fever and seizure. Specifically, when using a 12-hour threshold for analysis, a significantly greater proportion of patients with a history of COVID-19 exhibited intervals exceeding 12 hours compared to those without such a history. No significant differences were noted regarding sex, age, seizure frequency, personal history of FS, or family history of FS or epilepsy between the groups.Conclusion: Pediatric patients with FS and prior COVID-19 infection exhibited longer intervals between the onset of fever and seizure compared to those without previous COVID-19 infection. This finding suggests that COVID-19 may influence the mechanisms underlying FS. To better understand this relationship, long-term follow-up studies with larger cohorts are warranted.