[A long-term follow-up of 234 children with febrile seizures].
BACKGROUND
Febrile seizures (FS) are a benign process, yet diverse factors have been identified as being related to a higher risk of relapses and epilepsy.


OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to perform a developmental analysis of a group of children with FS in order to determine the epidemiological and clinical factors that might condition the prognosis of these patients.


METHODS
We reviewed the records of 234 children who had had their first seizure between 1989 and 1996; epidemiological, clinical and developmental data were collected. Patients at neurological risk were excluded. Patients were divided into two groups according to whether they had their first FS before (smaller group, n = 69) or after (larger group, n = 165) reaching the age of 15 months.


RESULTS
The mean age at the first FS was 20.6 +/- 8.9 months, being higher (p < 0.05) in children with a single FS (23.6 +/- 9.1 months) and lower (p < 0.05) in those who had relapses (17.7 +/- 7.4 months) and epilepsy (14.3 +/- 6.5 months). The male/female ratio was 1.09 in the smaller group and 1.96 in the larger group (p < 0.05). The risk of relapses was 73.9% in the smaller group and 33.1% in the larger group (p < 0.05), and in both groups it increased if there was a history of FS or epilepsy in the family. The risk of epilepsy was 11.6% in the smaller group and 3.0% in the larger group (p < 0.05), but it increased in the smaller group if the first FS or relapses were complex.


CONCLUSIONS
The age at the first FS is a substantial factor in the natural history of this nosological entity, since it conditions certain epidemiological characteristics and, especially, the prognosis of these patients.
Durá-Travé
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Hospital Virgen del Camino, Pamplona, Navarra, Spain. tduratra@cfnavarra.es
Yoldi-Petri
M E
ME
D000367:Age Factors; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004827:Epilepsy; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D011379:Prognosis; D012008:Recurrence; D012307:Risk Factors; D003294:Seizures, Febrile / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology