Do all pediatric patients who have a febrile seizure require transport by advanced life support?

OBJECTIVE

In the state of New Jersey, all pediatric patients who are transported to the hospital by emergency medical services for seizures are evaluated by both advanced life support (ALS) and basic life support (BLS) units. The state triage protocol mandates that a paramedic unit be dispatched. The purpose of this study is establish that the subset of those patients who experience simple febrile seizures could be safely transported by BLS, subsequently freeing much needed ALS resources.

METHODS

This study was performed using a retrospective chart review. Seventy-one consecutive patients who experienced febrile seizures and were transported to the Bristol-Meyers-Squib Children's Hospital/Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital via ALS were included. These patients were risk stratified into groups which were analyzed for interventions, including inpatient admission, medication delivery, intubation, or respiratory support.

RESULTS

From this analysis, we are identified factors in the history and physical examination of patients in the field that would help to classify the patient as having a "simple febrile seizure" and thus significantly lowering the risk of any potential negative outcome.

CONCLUSIONS

Simple febrile seizure patients are suitable for transport via BLS. Further studies should be done to confirm this conclusion.