EEG There is no evidence that an EEG can be used to predict if a child will develop epilepsy after a simple febrile seizure. A clinician should consider performing EEG if more than one complex feature is present [53], but a routine practice of obtaining an early EEG in neurologically normal children with complex febrile seizures was not initially justified [54]. EEG does have a role if a child remains encephalopathic after a FS. The FEBSTAT study performed baseline EEGs within 72 hours of the episode of FSE. Review of the baseline EEGs showed that there is focal EEG slowing or attenuation in a substantial proportion of children [55]. The slowing and attenuation are highly associated with MRI evidence of acute hippocampal injury [55]. These findings may be a sensitive and readily obtainable marker of acute injury associated with FSE. Imaging Neuroimaging is not recommended after a simple febrile seizure [49]. If a patient presents with focal complex FS and/or FSE, one should consider performing brain MRI to evaluate for a structural abnormality as an explanation for the seizure [51]. A head MRI is more sensitive for abnormalities that can cause seizures, but when unavailable computed tomography can be performed. The FEBSTAT study included baseline imaging on recruited subjects [51]. One hundred ninety one of the children had baseline MRI of the brain with emphasis on the hippocampus. A total of 22 children had definitely abnormal or equivocal increased T2 signal in the hippocampus following FSE [56]. None of the children in the
control group had this abnormality, which was statistically significant [56]. The imaging also showed that developmental abnormalities of the hippocampus were more common in the FSE group than in controls, with hippocampal malrotation being the most common. This study has demonstrated that children with FSE are at risk for acute hippocampal injury and that a substantial number also have abnormalities in hippocampal development. These cohorts of FSE subjects are still being followed to determine the long-term outcomes in these children. Treatment Acute Simple FS: There is no evidence that treatment of simple febrile seizures can prevent later development of epilepsy [57] and thus is not recommended (Figure 1). Complex FS: Prolonged febrile seizures, lasting more than 10 minutes, are unlikely to stop spontaneously [51]. A child that is actively having a seizure should receive acute abortive treatment after 5 minutes of the seizure starting. Pediatric status epileptics (SE) have traditionally been defined as a seizure that lasts for more than 30 minutes. This operational definition has been revised. More recent articles and studies have advocated that the duration of pediatric SE should be operationally shortened to seizures lasting more than 5-10 minutes [58,59]. Prolonged seizures are accompanied by an increased risk of complications, and treatment should be initiated before it reaches 10 minutes in duration. Prolonged FS should be treated acutely using the same algorithm as prolonged seizures caused by other etiologies. A prolonged FS should be treated acutely by emergency medical services (EMS) or the emergency department. Initial use of a benzodiazepine is recommended, and if continued seizure then a full SE protocol should be initiated [10]. FSE is a neurological emergency and the most common cause of SE in children younger than two years of age [60]. Chronic