Risk factors in children with febrile seizures and their iron status.

OBJECTIVE

To determine the risk factors for patients with febrile convulsions and to assess their iron status.

METHODS

The case-control study was conducted at the Central Child Teaching Hospital, Baghdad, Iraq, from May 1 to August 31, 2017, and comprised febrile patients aged 6-72 months admitted after presenting with axillary temperature ≥38oC. Those who got fits along with fever were declared the cases, while those with just fever were considered the controls. Venous blood samples were taken for complete blood count, biochemical tests, and for serum ferritin, serum iron and total iron binding capacity. Data was analysed using SPSS 23.

RESULTS

Of the 80 patients, 40(50%) were in each of the two groups. Respiratory tract infection was the commonest cause of fever in 29(58%) cases and 21(42%) controls (p>0.05). The cases were significantly younger in age (p<0.05). Also, there was significantly low haemoglobin level, low packed cell volume, low serum iron, higher total iron binding capacity and low serum ferritin in the case group (p<0.05). Iron deficiency anaemia was found in 17(73.9%) of the cases compared to 6(26.1%) among the controls. The mean serum ferritin of the cases was lower compared to the controls (p=0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

The risk of febrile seizure in iron-deficient children increased in the presence of risk factors.