[Febrile seizures: is EEG useful?].
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to determine the clinical relevance of electroencephalograms (EEG) with generalized spike-wave (S-W) in pediatric patients, especially in children with febrile seizures.


METHODS
One hundred and seventy pediatric patients with S-W were found from a register of 39,322 consecutive EEGs performed in an EEG laboratory dedicated to general clinical practice. Patients that only suffered febrile seizures were not considered epileptic.


RESULTS
Of the 170 patients, 154 (90.6%) were epileptic and 16 (9.4%) were not. Mean follow-up was 4.5 years. Twelve of the 16 non-epileptic children with S-W suffered febrile seizures.


CONCLUSIONS
The presence of S-W in EEGs is uncommon. Almost 10% of the children with S-W were not epileptic patients and none of them suffered from epilepsy during the follow-up period. Performance of an EEG on a child without epilepsy, especially those with febrile seizures, can be a factor of confusion.
Martínez Menéndez
B
B
Unidad de Neurología Pediátrica, H. Universitario de Getafe, Madrid.
Simón de las Heras
R
R
de la Peña Mayor
P
P
Pérez Sempere
A
A
Alvarez Tejerina
J
J
Mateos Beato
F
F
D002648:Child; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004569:Electroencephalography; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D003294:Seizures, Febrile / Q000175:diagnosis*