Serum zinc level in children presenting with febrile seizures

Abstract

Background A febrile seizure (FS) is defined as seizure associated with fever during infancy or childhood. Trace elements such as zinc, copper, selenium, and magnesium are described in association with FS. Aim The present work aimed to study the relation between FSs and serum zinc level, and it evaluated the potential role of zinc supplementation to decrease the frequency of FSs. Patients and methods The study included 40 children diagnosed as having FS for the first time, with an age between 6 months and 5 years old. It included another group with 40 febrile children but without seizures. Overall, 3 ml of peripheral blood was collected from each patient during the first 24 h of attack for measurement of serum zinc levels. The normal level is considered 0.46–1.2 mg/l, and zinc level less than 0.3 mg/l is defined as zinc deficiency. In cases with decreased zinc level, intervention was done by zinc supplementation in dose of 22.5-mg elemental zinc daily in divided doses for 3 months and were reassessed by frequency of seizures and serum zinc level. Results We found a low level of serum zinc in patients with FS. Among 28 children who had low zinc level, mean level of serum zinc (mg/l) was 0.89±0.15, with P value less than or equal to 0.001 after zinc supplementation. Conclusion A significant decrease in level of serum zinc was found in patients with FS, and zinc supplements could be used as a prophylaxis against recurrence of FS.