Rotavirus gastroenteritis associated with afebrile convulsion in children: clinical analysis of 40 cases.
BACKGROUND
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical manifestations and outcomes of hospitalized children with afebrile seizures following rotavirus gastroenteritis.


METHODS
We conducted a retrospective study enrolling patients under 18 years old who were admitted to our hospital during a 10-year period with the diagnosis of rotavirus gastroenteritis. We identified and further analyzed patients who presented with afebrile seizures, without previous seizure disorders, electrolyte imbalances or hypoglycemia. The statistical methods used were the Chi-square test, the Kruskal-Wallis test and the Mann-Whitney test.


RESULTS
Of 1937 patients, 40 patients (24 female and 16 male patients) met the inclusion criteria. The incidence of afebrile seizures following rotavirus gastroenteritis was 2.06%. The age of the patients ranged from 6 months old to 6 years old (mean, 1.9 years). The highest incidence of afebrile seizures was 4.67% in children 1 to 2 years of age (p < 0.001). Twenty-seven patients (67.5%) had two or more seizures, which usually were in clusters within a 24-hour period. No status epilepticus was observed. More than half of the patients (52.5%) suffered from seizures on the third day of diarrhea. Only five of 35 patients showed abnormal electroencephalogram (EEG) findings, which reverted to normal in four of the patients during the follow-up period. Most patients did not require long-term anticonvulsant treatment. During the follow-up period, all patients displayed normal psychomotor development without the recurrence of seizures, except in one patient who had a febrile convulsion.


CONCLUSIONS
We found that the course of afebrile seizures following rotavirus gastroenteritis was benign with satisfactory outcomes.
Hung
Jeng-Juh
JJ
Division of Pediatrics, Chang Gung Children's Hospital, 199, Tun-Hua North Road, Taipei 105, Taiwan, ROC.
Wen
Hsin-Yi
HY
Yen
Meng-Hsiu
MH
Chen
Hui-Wen
HW
Yan
Dah-Chin
DC
Lin
Kuang-Lin
KL
Lin
Syh-Jae
SJ
Lin
Tzou-Yien
TY
Hsu
Chih-Yi
CY
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004569:Electroencephalography; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005759:Gastroenteritis / Q000150:complications*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012400:Rotavirus Infections / Q000150:complications*; D012621:Seasons; D003294:Seizures, Febrile / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology