Definition
Febrile seizures are the most common form of seizures in children and occur in association with a fever greater than 38.4 °C (101.1 °F). They can either be simple, a brief generalized event, or complex, occurring more than once in a 24-h period or with a prolonged or focal presentation. By definition, febrile seizures occur in children older than 1 month of age who have no CNS infection, acute electrolyte imbalance, or history of afebrile seizures.
Epidemiology
Febrile seizures affect between 2% and 5% of children under the age of 5 years in Western countries, likely representing one of the most prevalent presenting problems in pediatric neurology. Simple febrile seizures are most common (about 65%).
Increased risk of febrile seizures has been associated with a number of factors, including developmental delay and a history of febrile seizures in a first or second degree relative. Children who stay in a neonatal nursery for more than 30 days or attend daycare are also...
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References and Readings
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Seinfeld, S., Glauser, T. A., & Shinnar, S. (2017). Febrile seizures. In J. M. Pellock, D. R. Nordli Jr., R. Sankar, & J. W. Wheless (Eds.), Pellock’s pediatric epilepsy: Diagnosis and therapy (4th ed., pp. 505–516).
Shinnar, R. C., Shinnar, S., Hesdorffer, D. C., O’Hara, K., Conklin, T., Cornett, K. M., et al. (2017). Parental stress, pediatric quality of life, and behavior at baseline and one-year follow-up: Results from the FEBSTAT study. Epilepsy & Behavior, 69, 95–99.
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Titus, J.B., Clarke, D. (2017). Febrile Seizures. In: Kreutzer, J., DeLuca, J., Caplan, B. (eds) Encyclopedia of Clinical Neuropsychology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56782-2_1546-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56782-2_1546-2
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