Clinical course of 31 patients with febrile seizures more than three times

Abstract

  Objective: The aim of this study was to examine an appropriate duration of the use of antiepileptic drugs and the necessity of electroencephalogram (EEG) for patients with recurrent febrile seizures. Methods: This retrospective study included data from patients who showed more than three times of febrile seizures followed-up at our institution. We defined the last seizure when patients were seizure free more than two years. Results: We collected data from 31 patients with a median observation period of 4 years and 6 months. All patients were treated with diazepam, but 1 patient could not be treated owing to dizziness. Among 18 patients, 16 and 2 were prescribed by valproate and phenobarbital, respectively. Of the 16 patients who had been prescribed more than 24 months at the time of this survey, the seizures disappeared in 13 cases (81%) within 24 months. Among the 26 patients whose EEG can be evaluated and who showed no afebrile seizures, there was no significant difference between the number of seizures and the timing of detection of EEG abnormalities. Conclusion: In patients with repeated febrile seizures, about 80% of patients treated by antiepileptic drugs have no recurrence within 2 years, suggesting that 1〜2 years of prescription may be effective. Moreover, it was difficult to estimate the necessity and optimum time of EEG from the number of seizures.