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Epilepsy and febrile convulsions

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

risk of developing epilepsy after febrile seizure

Majority of children with febrile seizures do not develop epilepsy.

  • in an epidemiological study of 687 children who experienced an initial febrile seizure (simple and complex)
    • the risk of developing unprovoked seizure was increased fivefold when compared with children with no febrile seizures.
    • in children with simple febrile seizures the risk of developing epilepsy was 2.4% while in children with febrile seizures with a single complex feature the risk was 6-8% and those with two or three complex features, the risk was 17-22 % and 49%, respectively (1)

Several risk factors for future epilepsy after a febrile seizure have been described.

  • family history of epilepsy
  • complex febrile seizures
  • neurodevelopmental impairment e.g - cerebral palsy, hydrocephalus
  • short duration of fever (<1 hour) before the seizure (1,2)

Reference:

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