Prognosis

Parents should be reassured that children with febrile seizures have an excellent outcome (in the absence of underlying developmental problems)

• UK population based study reported that children with febrile seizures (287 simple and 94 complex febrile seizure patients) performed as well as other children in terms of their academic progress, intellectual function, and behaviour at 10 years of age.
• population based cohort study in Rotterdam carried out in 2012 reported that
  • there was no increased risk of behavioural difficulties or problems in executive functioning in children with febrile seizures
  • in recurrent febrile seizures, patients had an increased risk of delayed language development when compared to those who had a single seizure (1)

Parents should be educated about the risk of febrile seizure recurrence.

Furthermore parents should be reassured that most children with febrile seizures (97%) will not develop epilepsy in the future (2).

Mortality from febrile seizure is difficult to calculate accurately since it is uncommon in patients with the condition (1).

Reference:

• (1) Patel N et al. Febrile seizures. BMJ. 2015 ;351:h4240
• (2) Patterson JL et al. Febrile seizures. Pediatr Ann. 2013;42(12):249-54