Materials and Methods
This is a prospective cohort study done at
Kathmandu Medical College and Teaching Hospital,
Sinamangal, Kathmandu, Nepal. It is the continuation of
the study which looked for the leucocytosis in peripheral
blood in children with febrile seizure5. These children were followed at outpatient department of Paediatrics
at Kathmandu Medical College and the study was
conducted from July 2008 to July 2009.
All the children who were admitted previously for
febrile seizure were asked to follow up within a week
of discharge. Children belonging to age 6 months to 6
years were included in the study. Informed consent was
taken. Children younger than 6 months and older than 6
years of age, those who had afebrile seizures, those who
are on regular anticonvulsants treatment and those who
refused to give consent were excluded from the study.
The parents of children were interviewed during
the follow up on outpatient department by asking
screening questions to verify that the child had not had
afebrile seizures. A complete description of the seizure
from the parent or, from an eyewitness was taken.
Information were asked for about; prenatal and perinatal
history of each child, family history of febrile seizure and
epilepsy, age during fi rst febrile convulsion (in cases of
≥1 recurrences), presence or absence of focal features,
duration of the febrile seizure, the duration of fever prior
to the seizure and whether repeated episodes within
the same febrile illness had occurred or not. Complete
physical, developmental and neurologic assessments
were conducted in each child. On arrival temperature
was taken and the child was investigated for fever as per
the decision of treating physician.
Simple febrile seizures are pre-defi ned as
generalized seizures, lasting less than 15 min, not
recurring within 24 hours, and with no postictal neurological
abnormalities. Similarly complex febrile seizures
are focal, prolonged or recurrent within 24 hours or
associated with post-ictal neurological abnormalities
including Todd paresis3.
Those children who had had a past history of at
least one febrile seizure and presently coming with
another episode of febrile seizure were regarded as
recurrent febrile seizure.