Abstract
Background: Febrile seizures (FS) are the most common type of convulsions in children from 6 months to 5 years of age and usually occur without central nervous system involvement, but precipitated by fever in children. Incidence of FS has been observed to vary seasonally, possibly associated with environmental factors and seasonal illnesses. This hospital-based study aims to characterize seasonal and diurnal patterns of FS to provide guidance for preventive as well as therapeutic strategies. Methods: This cross sectional study conducted at Department of Paediatrics, Institute of Dr. MR Khan Shishu Hospital & Institute of Child Health, Dhaka from January 2012 to December 2013. A total 298 children between 5 months up to 5 years of age who had febrile seizures. They included generalized tonic-clonic seizures that lasted less than 15 minutes. Results: Febrile seizures were most common among Children aged 13 to 18 months, predominance of male (72%). Corresponding to the winter and summer seasons, seasonal peaks were in January (12%) and July (11%). A higher incidence occurred between noon and evening (51.7 %) and between evening and midnight (31.5 %), whereas incidence between morning and noon (10.4 %) and between midnight and morning (6.4 %) were lower. The mean duration of febrile illness at presentation was 7.6 hours. Conclusion: This study shows that FS incidence is seasonal, with peaks of winter and summer. Increased cases were also observed in diurnal variation with more cases occurring in the afternoon and evening hours.
Published Version
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